‘We’ve earned this privilege’

About 50 high school students came to the Nov. 3 Valley Stream school board committee meeting to try to persuade the board to continue letting them leave campus in their cars during lunch periods.

Board members are considering changing the student driving policy to prohibit students from leaving the campus in their cars from the beginning of first period until the end of seventh period.

Adriana Callabro, Valley Stream North’s Student Council president, said that if the policy is changed, students who do not have a first-period class would not be able to park in the student lot because the gates would be closed. In inclement weather, Callabro added, students would not leave to get lunch, and the cafeteria would be packed. “What if it’s raining or snowing?” Callabro asked the board. “Everyone would have to stay in. How would you fix that?”

Last March, “Inside Edition” aired a segment that examined the risks of students driving during the school day, and North teens were among the students profiled on the show. Some were shown speeding off campus, running stop signs and driving recklessly. In recent months, the board has discussed whether student driving during lunch periods is necessary. “I do not see a need for students to take their cars out for lunch,” Superintendent Dr. Marc Bernstein said. “If 10th-graders can walk out and get lunch, so can seniors.”

Bernstein referenced several incidents over the past year that prompted the board to review the student parking policy. Last spring, a car carrying Central students flipped, and luckily, he said, no one was hurt. Just two weeks ago, Bernstein said, two cars, both driven by South students, collided on Mill Road. One was crowded with eight students, he said, and the other carried five. Both drivers were driving with junior licenses, which, Bernstein said, is illegal.

Most students who addressed the board argued that driving off campus to get lunch is a right they always had, and it would be unfair to let a few poor drivers ruin it for everyone. “This is unfair and unnecessary,” said Sana Ali, a senior at North. “We’ve earned this privilege. How can you take away something we earned and deserve?”

Samantha Piccirillo, the school’s senior class president, said that the students shown on “Inside Edition” knew a film crew would be at the high school that day, and purposely drove recklessly to get on television. The students seen in the segment, Piccirillo said, have graduated, and others shouldn’t be penalized. “I don’t think our class should be punished for last year’s class,” Piccirillo said. “The video only showed four kids. The lot holds 50 cars. Why punish all of us for the few reckless drivers?”

Board Trustee Ken Cummings said that after seeing how students drive, it doesn’t make sense to keep the policy as is. “We can’t control what the village does, but we can control parking,” Cummings said.

Trustee Bill Stris agreed. “The time has come to look at option two,” he said, referring to a survey the district sent to 4,600 homes last month, listing three student-parking options for parents to choose from: leave the policy as is; prohibit students from driving off campus until after seventh period; or add that prohibition and restrict on-street parking as well near each high school on school mornings. Limiting on-street parking would require village or town approval.

Bernstein said the district received about 230 responses. About 100 parents suggested keeping the policy unchanged, while 130 parents said a change was long overdue.

Valley Stream North senior Corben Crew was one of a few students who agreed with the board, and implored trustees to change the policy because, Crew said, he feared for the safety of his classmates. “We cannot go on with the status quo,” he said. “We need to change this situation.”

The board listened to students’ remarks for about half an hour, and Bernstein said that some of them had made valid arguments. A change in policy could indeed overpopulate the cafeteria, he said, and students who have first period off would in fact not be able to park in the student lot. Bernstein also questioned where visitors would park, since they currently have to park in the student lot.

One argument he deemed invalid is that it is a senior’s right to drive to lunch. “Your input is valuable,” Bernstein said. “We know every 17-year-old wants to drive. The argument of ‘We’re entitled to it’ will not sway our decision. That’s just not going to do it.”

Bernstein said the board would make a decision at its meeting on Tuesday, after the Herald went to press.

If there is a change in policy, the superintendent said, it would not go into effect before April 1.