From Teslas taking up two spaces to SUVs blocking half the road, parking at LAHS remains a daily conundrum. As students, staff and visitors alike make the effort to find a place to park among limited spots, poor parking jobs have stood out as not only frustrating, but hazardous.

An anonymous LAHS student, infuriated by nonsensical parking making students’ lives more difficult, decided to make light of the situation by creating the Instagram account @lahs.bad.parking, where they post photos of these poor parking jobs.

“My very first post was an image of two cars both parked over their lines, blocking in the only spot left in the parking lot,” the creator said. “I was getting frustrated because, as everyone knows, there just aren’t enough spots for students because of construction, and on top of that I was running late for class. That’s when my friend told me about Willow Glen High School’s bad parking account.”

Inspired by the idea, they created an LAHS account. Although originally coming from a place of frustration, the posts have been made in good fun and are intended to amuse, not harass. While calling out bad parking jobs, the account’s creator has been sure to not include any names and always block out license plates.

While the account is mainly for entertainment purposes, it has encouraged students to be conscious of their parking tendencies. After all, being publicly called out tends to humble our below-average parkers, and may just be the best incentive to be mindful in the lot.

“After my car got posted on the account the first time, I definitely became more aware of my parking,” junior Kaitlyn Smiley said. “I remember the next time I parked in a hurry I was actually worried, thinking that I would end up on the account again. Turns out they posted a picture of my car from that day only like a week later.”

Although the account began with the creator taking her own pictures, she started accepting submissions, and other students, when witnessing a bad parking situation, often take the opportunity to snap a picture and send it to the Instagram account. Whether cars are parked at a diagonal angle or left on top of curbs, the Instagram account aims to be comedic and effectively calls attention to both students and staff’s parking abilities — or lack thereof.

“I started it because I was annoyed at that moment, but also to encourage people to park better,” the account’s creator said. “So if it’s working, and people are now a little more scared to park poorly, then I’m glad because that was exactly the point.”

Students whose parking mishaps have been posted agree that the account, while calling students out, is ultimately harmless.

“I think it’s funny, and I think it’s good they cover the license plates,” Kaitlyn said. “So it’s really more about something to be laughed about instead of just hating on the person’s parking because it makes it more anonymous.”