You’ve likely experienced it.
You drank that double serving energy drink at lunch then got distracted talking to your friends and didn’t notice the bell ring.
School is over now; you must rush to find a bathroom, so you do not miss your bus. Then you find out the closest one is locked, and you keep trying but they are all locked! Why does it feel like the bathrooms are often locked?
One of the main reasons student bathrooms are locked at certain times is due to the issue of bathroom misuse or to prevent smoking and skipping class.
The boy’s bathroom, specifically, faces vandalism and missing items, like mirrors, soap dispensers. At one point, some of the boy’s bathrooms did not have stall doors. Sophomore hector Hernandez shares that he refuses to use the school bathroom if he can. “I went into the boy’s bathroom, and it was disturbing and rancid.”
Interviewing Lakes security on the topic
Sarah Gomez, who is one of the Campus Security at Lakes helps keep the hallways and bathrooms safe. When asked if she had ever caught anyone misusing the bathroom (I.E smoking, skipping etc.), she stated, “I have never personally caught anyone smoking but I have seen the smoke, and I have been able to smell it during my routine checks.” She shared that there are policies in place that affect everyone’s ability to use the bathrooms.
“Yes, it definitely does affect other people’s ability to use the bathroom because of the bathrooms being locked but I think it has become easier compared to the years before.”
When asked if it is apparent to campus security which students that vandalize or smoke and which do not? She said, “I do not want to base everything on how they act or how they look. I want to be able to get to know them.” She also talked about how she is helping students get back on track and how many of them are doing much better and she is proud of them.
How do students feel about the topic?
Nevaeh Nofoa-Masoe, a junior at Lakes, had a lot to say about the bathroom issues. When asked if she feels safe using the bathrooms she said, “I don’t exactly feel safe, but I am able to stand up for myself. but I do know people who are afraid to go.”
Nofoa-Masoe shared that if she knows of students that misuses the bathroom, “Yes I do know people who misuses the bathrooms, but I don’t support it.” People can influence people, and she said, “I don’t think it’s act of smoking but the visual of smoking.”
When asked if she had any ideas on how to help with the problem. She suggested, “We should be sent out in groups with a teacher instead of locking them or calling for an escort.”
Ways to improve the misuse of bathrooms
The staff at Lakes said that there have been many attempts to improve the bathrooms but currently the one that is working the most is locking them and having an escort for people who continue to misuse the bathrooms. The problem with this tactic is that this affects the rest of the students. It is hard to find a bathroom to use.
While the situation doesn’t feel like it has improved significantly or that it may never fully go away, there are creative ways we can reduce bathroom misuse. Some teachers have designated times for students to all use the bathroom at once so there are not any distractions.
