Boarding school students are awarded many privileges; but, unfortunately for some of them, having their cars on campus does not fit into that category.

Boarding students at Williston are not allowed to store their vehicle anywhere on campus unless they are given an exemption. Some boarding students believe they should be able to, either on or off campus, in order to make transportation home or to off-campus games easier, and in turn to ease the financial burden on their families.

According to the Williston Student Handbook, “Boarding students are not permitted to have, use, or access a motor vehicle while at school. Any exceptions to this policy must be discussed with and approved by the Dean of Students well in advance of its occurrence.”

The exemptions can include students playing for club teams around the area that would not have a ride to the games or practices, or if a student needs a vehicle to travel to and from the school because of breaks or long weekends.

Alexis Giguere, an international student from Quebec City, is one of the few students who has been granted the ability to have his vehicle on campus. He believes it makes his ability to attend the school much easier.

“I think I’ve been allowed to have my vehicle on campus because I am an international student and I live six  and a half hours away,” Alexis said. “Also, I said that I couldn’t attend school if I wasn’t able to come with my car because my parent wouldn’t lift me every time.”

Alexis believes there should be a more attainable way for boarding students to keep their cars on campus.

“I do believe there should be a program so you can bring your car because most of the student don’t come from really close,” he said. “Even though they’re from the United States, some come from more than five hours [away].”

“I think they should have their car because it’s not a nice thing that parents need to do like more than 10 hours of driving to come get their kids once a month,” he added.

David Koritkoski, Dean of Students, believes the current system is working.

“The vast majority of what boarding students do, don’t require cars,” Koritkoski said. “The number one reason boarding students have cars is to go to tournaments, things on the weekends, or to and from campus.”

He also suggested that maintaining and offering storage would be very difficult.

“Frankly we don’t want the supervision hassle of maintaining x number of cars on campus,” he said. “There are very few, if at all, any boarding schools that allow access to cars to boarding students. It’s just really, really challenging.”

He added also that parking would be an issue.

Kat Mayer, a boarding student from Massena, N.Y., used to have her car on campus for traveling to lacrosse games, and believes that students should be able to have their vehicles. Like Koritkoski however, she agrees it would be a challenge to supply parking.