In recent years at SHS, there have been an increasing number of complaints from SHS community members who neighbor the school. They have been noted to complain about the utter silence that exists at all SHS sporting events that are not basketball or football.
Track meets are an example of this situation, and last year neighbor Claudia Marquis sent an official complaint directly to the school. She described the area around her home as eerily quiet and dreary during track meets.
“I’d rather there be a basketball or football game over a track meet any day,” Marquis said. “If there’s a track meet, I don’t get to have overflow parking in my yard and the sound of people screaming outside.”
This has become a serious issue in the eyes of the entire community and has raised great concern. Another person who lives near the school disapproves of the attendance for lacrosse games in the spring. Molly Anderson explained that, without people walking on and parking in her yard, it has become too green for her liking.
“The grass has grown too healthy and is so green that it hurts my eyes,” Anderson said. “I won’t tolerate it any longer.”
In Anderson’s opinion, sporting event attendance has become less about supporting winning teams and more about furthering the atmosphere that has been created within the neighborhood. She says that nearby residents have been showing less concern for whether or not people support sports like track or lacrosse. They have become more and more focused on keeping everything rambunctious and disorganized. To her, it is obvious that the frustration rising within this group has started to climax and can not build much longer before something must be done.
The school administration has been brainstorming ideas to find a solution to this problem, or at least help alleviate some of the dissatisfaction. It has been proposed that students and faculty begin parking on nearby streets like Loretta Drive, Southview Drive and Manker Street during the school day instead of in the parking lot.
“We believe that this will be the most effective plan of action to get rid of the discomfort that community members are experiencing,” administrator Ryan Bright said.
Students and faculty will not only be encouraged to park on the street in front of houses, but also in people’s yards. The idea of having kids walk up and down the streets for a few hours before and after school yelling as loud as they can has also been presented, but has not yet been confirmed. This plan will hopefully provide contentment for all Southport residents.