Rage. Sweat. Tears. The Maggie Walker student parking lot has been the bane of many students’ and parents’ existence. If you’re in your car by 3:10, it’s already too late for you. It’ll be another fifteen minutes before you finally feel the sweet, sweet relief of reaching Richmond’s best designed road, Broad Street. Walking through the asphalt wasteland outside of the Governor’s School’s north exit, not only are you risking your life as an innocent pedestrian, you can’t even feel safe in your Tesla. But at last, no longer must you incessantly honk your horn to ensure that everyone knows that your time is far more valuable than everyone else’s. 

Rather, rest assured, our fair and benevolent security guard, Michael Jordan, has heard the concerns of the plebeians. In his infinite mercy, he hath granted you a respite. As reported by the Magnanimous Director Robert Lowerre in his Sunday night address to the students, “to increase the flow and efficiency of our student parking exit, we are subdividing the lane.” In essence, you now have two ways to escape this purgatory with the two exit lanes. Admittedly, as all entities are bound by the laws of equivalent exchange, this increase in convenience comes at a price. By subdividing both lanes, large cars will now find it more difficult to navigate the parking lot. Further in his address, Lowerre warns about this, stating “if you drive an extra-large vehicle such as a dual-wheel pickup or a luxury SUV, please use caution.” 

Upon finding out about the change, Shorya Malani (‘24) could barely hold in his excitement, exclaiming, “Oh my God. Thank God!” Malani is thrilled at the new convenience the subdivision holds, explaining, "It means that you can leave sooner after school since you don't have one bad driver clogging up the system because they can't take a turn." Malani further emphasizes the benefits of the change, stating, “It’s faster, better, takes up less time, and lets two cars turn at once.” 

Timothy Porter (‘24) agrees with the sentiments of the change, stating that he is “in favor of the change to the student parking lot exit because it makes parking more inconvenient for people who choose to drive SUVs.” Porter, an anti-car urbanist, finds this traffic change very exciting for his campaign against SUV’s. 

As Porter hinted, the change is another chapter in the parking lot’s tumultuous relationship with SUV drivers. Hareem Mubashar (‘24) notes “As an SUV driver, I feel like this change is yet another alienation of people who drive bigger cars in a parking lot that clearly was never built to manage such large cars.” Mubashar's remarks come at a watershed moment, and highlight a unique concern about how the school ought to weigh its concerns. “Under the previous parking lot regime, people were mildly inconvenienced due to time. Under this new system, I have to worry about my own personal safety, all for driving a car when I literally have no other option.” Mubashar's reservations are evident, and even shared among her classmates. Though people overlook it, everybody has heard snide remarks on both sides of the spectrum. SUV drivers complain about the parking lot, and others complain about SUV drivers. 

Although some may view the student parking lot exit change as rather insignificant news, such changes are important and highlight otherwise overlooked concerns. Allowing a fascinating window into the school’s policy making process, it demonstrates the elaborate factors that inform something as simple as the student parking lot changing. And this change might just be the real “politics of road rage.”