With the start of a new school year and student drivers on the road, students have noticed the new early cutoff time for the parking in front of the East Gate at Mark Keppel. With classes officially starting at 8:30 a.m., excluding zero period, the 7 a.m. cutoff time has caused confusion for students and parents alike. 

Last year’s parking cutoff time was 7:30 a.m. which students and parents preferred as it made it easier to arrive at school. “[They should] do it like they did it last year: make the cutoff time 7:30 and allow parents through the roundabout for dropping off students,” senior Ryan Zeng noted. This year, parents are not allowed to enter the roundabout to drop off students meaning all students must be dropped off elsewhere. This hasn’t caused as much of a divide as students are still getting dropped off near Keppel. 

Some student drivers have taken to parking on the street, not knowing where else to park. There is however a silver lining, the parking by the baseball field stays open for much longer than the one directly in front of the school. While it is much farther away from the entrance, it still provides ample parking for students.