by Violet Wallerstein

As of March 10, the Los Gatos Lodge has closed its gates, which had previously been open to students, from the Los Gatos High School campus to their property. Many students park their cars in this lot to avoid the traffic and hassles of trying to park and safely drive on LGHS’s campus. There have been noise complaints from the residents at the Lodge about students and there is often trash left on their property. The recent incident that caused the gate to be closed was a parent and student dropping off a couch onto the Lodge property.

Meetings concerning the reopening of the gate between the Lodge and administrators have led to the possibility of posting of a staff member, Los Gatos police officer, or a guard hired by the Lodge at the gate. However, the school does not have jurisdiction over traffic or private property, so the closest option to a solution so far is the Lodge staffing their own guard.

Many have expressed concern about the need for access to the Lodge as a safe place to escape to if there were ever an emergency on campus. Vice Principal Kevin Rogers stated, “There is currently an agreement between the Lodge and the high school that if there was ever an emergency, we would be able to go there and the custodial staff is aware that if that ever were to occur, they should go to the gate with bolt cutters.”

Los Gatos students continue to park at the Lodge and hop the fence to their vehicles, though Principal Markus Autrey has issued an email to all students informing them about the Lodge locking the gate. Many students are frustrated by the inconvenience, including sophomore Chloe Weiner who said, “When the Lodge was first closed, it was really hard because they didn’t tell us and everyone just started jumping over the fence. It’s now really inconvenient to try and park on campus because it’s so crowded.”

Junior Nikhil Amin believes, “It’s unfair they closed the gate because I have been parking there for a few months and never disrupted the Lodge, but now some people are causing shenanigans and students don’t have access.” Students who have permits to park in the junior or senior lot often cannot find a parking space if arriving past 7:50 AM. The student body looks forward to the gate being open in the future, but for now the gate remains locked for the foreseeable future.