Gabrielle Bigio ’27

In the tumult of high school life at Ransom Everglades, one battleground reigns supreme: the infamous senior parking lot. Before they reach senior year, students struggle through the annoyances of parking in the Playhouse lot, or on Franklin Ave, as the coveted senior parking lot stands as a beacon of light and hope. When they finally become seniors, they rejoice: the mornings of rolling out of bed and mustering up the courage to make the long trek down Main Highway are over, and school is now an easy 20 steps from class. But then, each year, the foggy cloud that surrounds the parking lot as an underclassman quickly fades, memes about the lot are posted, and inescapably, fury builds.  

Buckle up, we’ve got a bumpy road! Oh wait, that’s just the unusually far out curb.  

The senior parking lot is coveted not just because it represents a rite of passage. The convenience can feel life-changing. For this year’s graduating seniors, however, parking in the lot came with several unexpected, and universal, challenges—problems that fed ongoing social media furors as much as they contributed to a shared experience.  

What’s the biggest puzzle in the senior parking lot? It’s not the search for the perfect spot partner. No, the real mystery lies in the marks on the sidewalk, etched relentlessly by the aggressive breaking and turning of every car that exits the lot.  

It’s a phenomenon that has united seniors, leaving them with an inside joke almost all can laugh (and scream) about. This experience is so widely understood, that in a group of 13 senior girls questioned, each one raised their hand to affirm they have run this curb at least once before. 

But why does this treacherous right turn plague even the most seasoned teen drivers? The answer is found in the narrow driveway and a curb that seems to have a personality of its own, protruding just a little bit too far. 

“It’s ’cause the two lanes you’re turning onto are so tight, so you try to cut sooner to avoid hitting another car—turns out you just hit your own,” huffed Paul Gould ’24. 

“I don’t know what it is about that curb, but the people building it missed a calculation,” said Juliana Perez ’24. 

So infamous was the curb that it became the star of its own memes throughout the year. But it shared the social media spotlight with another problem that plagued seniors virtually every day: the epidemic of spot-stealing. 

Latecomers and early birds would leave their spots unguarded and become the perfect victims for the crime, leaving behind a trail of chaos and, more notably, a Snapchat-shared story brimming with accusations and threats.  

“Almost every other time I show up to park on school campus, my spot is taken by a random car… and each time it’s different,” said Lucas Bernal ’24. 

The absurdity reached its peak as exasperated seniors, faced with the annoyance of losing their prized parking spots, would retaliate by grabbing the closest empty space, creating a ripple effect of irate students navigating the inconsistent parking landscape.  

Olivia Janette ’24 told a story about a day she came to campus during lunch, almost late for class and in a rush to her next period. In a hasty decision, she grabbed a spot that wasn’t her own and proceeded to post to the Class of 2024 shared Snapchat story: “Whoever’s spot this is, I took it for this period… Call me if you need me to move.” But, what seemed to be a good solution did not turn out in her favor. Shortly after class, she came face to face with Upper School Dean of Students Mr. Petar Solomun.   

In such a climate, the price of securing a spot for yourself—that is, not sharing it with someone else—reached new heights. The marketplace for prime parking real estate became so intense that some students were willing to dig deep into their pockets to secure the perfect spot.  

Elle Rosenblum ’24 said that she had been “willing to pay up to $400, but someone must have bid even more because [I] didn’t get the spot.”  

$400 might seem staggering. But before we judge this automotive black market, the cost of parking at Playhouse Lot must be considered: $12 per day.  

In the grand scheme of things, these are not important issues. But RE could take some tangible steps to improve the senior parking experience. The school could try negotiating with the landlords of the Playhouse Lot for a reduced rate for seniors, perhaps in exchange for making the Playhouse Lot the official alternative for seniors whose spots are occupied on any given day.  

To combat spot stealing, a directory posted in the lot, communicating whose spot is whose, might allow students to reach out to others directly about borrowing a spot for a period or two. RE could also consider allowing a certain amount of parking spot personalization, which can be seen on other high school campuses and might further deter potential spot thieves.   

As for the curb: unfortunately, I am not an architect, so I am not in a position to give advice to the school. But to the rising seniors: take a wider turn than you deem necessary! 

As a new generation of seniors prepares to navigate the tumultuous seas of the parking lot, it’s essential to heed the wise words of Tomas Griffin ’25, who remains excited about the prospect of parking there despite the grumbling from the Class of 2024. “The parking situation isn’t great, but it’s ameliorated by the fact that our school is located in such an awesome spot. I don’t know of any other schools that have the opportunity to walk into a small town with like 40 meal options and shopping spots.”  

So, as we roll our eyes at the senior parking lot’s champagne problems, let’s raise a toast to the incredible opportunity we have to call this wonderfully located school our own.