Screeching tires. Ear-splitting horns. Slews of profanities. These are not the sounds of wartime, but those of the Edina High School parking lot as the clock strikes 3:16 PM. As soon as seventh period ends, any feelings of goodwill and comradery towards our fellow students evaporate in that asphalt jungle. If parents knew what was going on down in that lot on a daily basis, they would not be comfortable sending their kids to school on their own. Students with parking privileges must take responsibility for their driving habits, or the parking lot will continue to become the most dangerous place most teens have ever had to navigate.

The problem is, plenty of student drivers tend to drive with their middle fingers rather than their brains. They are overly aggressive, driving not six inches behind the bumper of the car in front of them, with no intention of ever letting any poor soul get out. These students have no sense of driving etiquette, and as a result, create major problems for the cars around them. Simple manners are the key ingredient to good driving. Evidently, manners are not tested for at the Minnesota DMV. It becomes the responsibility of the school’s administration to teach its students these fundamentals, ultimately to keep them safe.

In fairness, the faults of the parking lot are not due to a lack of trying by the administration. There is staff monitoring the parking lot to a certain degree, and some traffic direction, but the chaos is not easily contained. This is the first time the parking lot has been this full in a year and a half. In fact, it’s not equipped for this many cars—the school sent out an email earlier this year stating that passes were oversold. Most of the students driving to school got their licenses during quarantine and are not used to being in high traffic situations. Add buses and parent pick-ups into the mix, it becomes more than a few traffic guards can handle. A few advisory PowerPoints—and parent emails—could really help our community look inward and think about how we may have contributed to the madness.

That isn’t to say the issue would be solved entirely. Certainly, there are, ahem, a handful of students at this school that don’t pay close attention to the lessons given in advisory. They are also often also the white Jeep Wranglers cutting you off as you’re trying to get to work on time. It’s time for the school to start doling out punishments to the student drivers who cannot behave like adults behind the wheel. Why should they deserve a parking pass when their driving poses a safety threat to their peers? Passes to the main lot are a privilege. To keep it, students should show that they can actually handle a busy parking lot.

Going to school should not feel like preparing for war. Anyone who’s been trapped in the main lot for forty minutes can relate to the headache that arises. If students can’t find a way to be civil with one another in the parking lot, there should be consequences.