It could be said that one of the larger bummers home learning has delivered this year is no senior parking. The senior parking lot, more intimately known as the “slot,” is infamous for its horrific parking jobs, too-small spots, harrowing corners and risky on-curb parking for those unfortunate enough to get caught in traffic on the way to school. While at pavement-level, the “slot” might seem like an all-around bad time, something doesn’t feel right about a school year without a few dents, barking tires and window-exits. 

Picture this: it’s an early Monday morning in late January with the sun shining, snow on the ground, and a quickly filling, somewhat plowed senior lot. Someone’s high-centered their car on one of the snowbanks in the back of their spot heads poke out drivers’ side windows to make sure the angle is just right, friends wave to each other across the median. Students crunch over the sidewalk to filter inside as the late bell rings. A brave, tardy soul guns their car up over the curb to park illegally on the dirt close to Arapahoe Avenue. They hastily turn off their music, lock their doors and hustle to class while saying a quick prayer that the ticketers won’t be checking until lunch. All is well. Now compare the scene to this morning. The sun, snow, and pavement remain, but the cars, people and music are absent. No high-fives were exchanged, nobody had to climb out their car’s hatch and nobody ate a rushed bagel on the way from the lot to their first period. The yellow lines remain empty and the morning commute has been reduced to walking to the computer. Life, it seems, has been sucked out of the “slot.” The Farmers’ Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays bring some action as customers park to shop, but they’re present only briefly and soon depart. 

Sad, isn’t it? The energy that started off the day for the senior class and those who carpool with them has been snuffed out, and with it, part of the Boulder High experience. Crooked parking, scratches and lunchtime naps in the backseat all made the “slot” special in their own way. The loss of these negatives hurts just as much as not being able to drive to school, arguably even more. Every dent never dinged and every neighbor’s car never scratched were rights of passage stolen away by COVID. Hopefully, for the sake of that empty lot and the people who park in it, in-person learning will safely return at some point this year, and the “slot” will be revived—until then, replacing your drive to school with opening your laptop will have to do.