Being In Authority by Amelia

Being In Authority by Amelia - September 2023 Scholarship Essay

My name is Amelia and I am a senior here in Wilmington, North Carolina. I attend the school that has gained it's fame and popularity from Michael B. Jordan. My school is Emsley A. Laney High School. When looking at Laney, there are several things that could be improved. Our school is very over populated with about 500-700 students per grade. To be able to say what I would like to see changed, I have to state the problem first. I believe the biggest issue we have here at Laney is student parking. Due to the amount of students that attend our school, we have over 100-150 students that are left without a parking spot.
Those who are unable to receive a parking spot have to either rule out driving their vehicles to school and ride the bus, have their parents wait in the car line that never moves, or they park in other parking lots close to campus. There have been many safety issues with students parking in other parking lots across the street at our school. The main one being the church parking lot. The road that separates the church from Laney is an always busy road called S. College Rd. We have had two or three circumstances where a student and/or adult that has been hit by a vehicle this past year. All of these individuals had this in common: they all were trying to cross the road because there is only one crosswalk, and it is a ways away from the entrance to Laney.
Other places that students leave their vehicles is a park that is through the woods, behind our school. The park is called Olsen park. Our track and field teams often practice there. Students park their cars there in the mornings and walk to school through the woods. Yesterday, the Park's attendants filed a safety complaint due to the amount of cars there. They threatened to remove the cars from the park by towing them.
Many students feel powerless.
Now that I have stated the issue, I can formally talk about the ways I can and want to improve the school. At our school we have a bunch of unused land that has been sitting for a very long time. I would mention to the school board about removing the trees to create more parking spots. Then I would make another exit to get out of the school. The traffic dealing with parking and parent drop of is absurd. We share one exit with Emma B. Trask Middle School leaving many parents late for work, and students late for school. The last thing I would do is create another crosswalk where students who are walking to school can feel safe.