As everyone knows, earlier this year Carstarphen extended the school day, to much remorse, causing all students to get out at 4:15 instead of 3:45pm. This has caused great commotion to ensue in the parking deck, causing students to run as quickly as possible outside in order to be able to get to home quickly.

When Carstarphen added 30 minutes, one of the unforeseen hindrances with the new schedule was students who drive to school getting out of the parking deck. Since North Atlanta only growing, the amount of students who drive to school is tremendous. Before, when students got out at 3:45, everyone could walk out to their cars and leave the school without a problem. “It used to be so easy leaving school at 3:45 but now it’s so hard,” said sophomore Molly Harrigan. “I’ve gotten stuck at the school until 4:50 before, it’s terrible.”

Now, students have to get creative in order to get out early. Parking on the higher levels is a blessing and curse. It’s great because it’s very easy to park and leave school easily. However, the extra flight of stairs after a long day in North Atlanta’s large building is a very debatable choice. Also, parking near the stairs is another great strategy, making easy access to your car. Backing your car into the space is another helpful tip to make one’s life easiest to get out of the parking deck of darkness.

However, despite all attempted efforts to be able to leave at a reasonable time, bad drivers contribute to the situation. Some students at North Atlanta drive so badly it’s remarkable they even passed their driver’s test. Senior Charlie Nicholson said, “Bad parking and not understanding how to leave down the right ramp makes everything even more difficult.”

This doesn’t even mention how now it’s a race to beat the army of buses. The light in front of NAHS is so short. Also, what doesn’t help is how by the time the students are heading out, the bus drivers don’t let anyone in the lanes, adding another 20 minutes to the to get out. “I am so annoyed it’s too much to deal with after such a long day,” said senior Jack Henderson. “I can’t face another battle besides the school day.”

However, despite the annoyances of getting out later, we have less than a month left. Hopefully, soon the honking battles will subside and the parking deck chaos will be no more.