When the first announcement was made that students would have to purchase parking passes and gates would be installed for the parking lots, many students were left confused. There has been a lot of misinformation passed around about where the money from the parking passes would go and the reason for why the parking lots are locked.

The main reason for administration locking the gates came from a fund from Shelby County Schools that was given to all schools for better safety precautions. With White Station having one of the most open campuses in Memphis with many different entrances, administration felt that officially making White Station a closed campus was the most important decision. It was about making the campus safer for students to park their cars, as well as to prevent others who are not supposed to be on campus from coming onto campus.

“We have had break-ins in this parking lot,” Ed Mcdugle said. “We have actually had cars stolen in this parking lot before, and even with the gates closed, they still can get broken into, but it’s going to take more of an effort by vandals and thieves to break into the cars.”

Although White Station has always been classified as a closed campus, the attention brought to this has pushed some students to want an open campus. One student in particular, Ella Atkinson (12), started a petition to have an open campus where students would be allowed to leave during their study hall and lunch times. Her main reason for wanting this goes back to the lack of wifi in Shelby County schools.

“Students who would be better equipped to deal with their work outside of school, during their free times, during their lunch or study hall, would benefit [from] them leaving campus,” Atkinson said.

Her reasoning went further beyond just getting work done outside of campus, adding that it would improve student independence, as White Station is a college preparatory school.

“Obviously, the parents have to allow this, so I just think if we increase awareness that people want an open campus, then we can draw support and get it,” Atkinson said.

In the end, it was not the administration’s goal to restrict students, but to keep them safe throughout the school day. All students, teachers and faculty will be required to have a parking pass in order to make sure everyone on campus is supposed to be there. Furthermore, if a student knows they will be checking out early during the day, they can get a pass from the office allowing them to park in the freshman parking lot, which does not currently have a gate due to buses.

Along with questions about needing to leave early, students also raised the question of where the money from the parking passes would be going. While some believed that it was used to pay for the gates, it is actually intended to pay for student activities and incentives for the students. There is not a current budget for these in the Shelby County Schools system.

Though some students feel that this new implementation of parking rules is unfair, the rules are overall for the safety of the students and campus. There seems to have been a stop to break-ins on campus as well as a decrease in students leaving campus without permission.

“Primarily, this is for the safety of the students, the liability of having an open access campus, and the risk is just too high,” Colonel Michael Bailey said.