Every morning, I drive through the front gate at Poly greeted by security guard Jason, a Ruvna screening, and the job of parking my car. My car doesn’t have an off-roading setting, yet for the past few months, I’ve had to sludge through the mounds of wet soil to make my way up the student parking hill towards another day of school.

Back in 2019, Poly community drivers all parked in the front and back lots. With the pandemic, many opt to drive to avoid urine- and germ-filled public transportation, but there aren’t enough parking spots to accommodate. Since returning from pandemic quarantine, while teachers stuffed their cars in the lot, juniors and seniors like myself parked their cars on the “hill” by the 9/11 Memorial Garden. That is, until security discontinued this practice this month after noticing the muddy and dangerous conditions, or what my Tiguan would call quicksand if it could talk.

Once a beautiful tribute to the lives lost from the attack on the World Trade Center, the memorial garden has become a pit that most resembles a monster truck battlefield, with the grass disintegrating into the wet soil beneath. The day after harsh weather events were always the worst. To get up over the mud-slide of a hill, I had to floor it. Otherwise, I’d roll backwards into the baby turtles in the pond, meaning I’d kill not only myself but also the wildlife native to our man-made hole filled with water. 

I have been lucky enough to have gotten my car stuck in the mud on the hill, not once, but twice this year, in addition to plenty of extra time skidding up the tundra to park. The first time, I manually pushed my car, while avoiding the two bodies of water in either valley, as my shoes got pulled off from the suction of the mud. The second time, I recruited a security guard to help. After half an hour of efforts to no avail, Admissions Coordinator Ellen Kinnane was kind enough to give the car the extra push it needed to escape the mud’s grip. Pushing cars out of quicksand was far beyond her paygrade. 

Another time, I arrived early to Poly’s campus for morning workouts. Upon my arrival, there were two feet of snow on top of the extra snow plowed from the path onto the hill. Still, Jason encouraged me to continue to make my way through the snow for parking. After minutes of skidding and getting nowhere, I gave up. In rebellion, I left my car in the middle of the bus path. As students arrived, after my bold statement, students were permitted to park in the teachers’ parking lot, on the safe concrete. 

Perhaps, because of my daring act, Poly sent out an email on February 13 informing faculty and student drivers that they will forgo all parking on grassy areas, decreasing parking capacity by about 30 spaces. Perhaps because of my audacity, parking for students and employees will now come on a first-come, first-serve basis. Those who arrive after the lots are full will have to park on the street. Juniors, seniors, people with tiny cars, and baby turtles, you are welcome.