For the past two school years, nearly half of the bathrooms at our school have been closed due to students being caught vaping or engaging in other prohibited behaviors and actions. Because of this, the school decided to shut down several restrooms to prevent bad behavior. This rule has been in place for a while, and students have mixed feelings about it.
One of the biggest problems is that fewer open bathrooms mean more students have to share the same space. For example, upstairs main, there is only one open bathroom. This causes long lines and makes the open bathroom crowded.
“The closed bathrooms are annoying because it makes everything take longer; sometimes I’m late to class just because I had to wait in line,” said Lyla Fergison, sophomore.
Another issue is the distance. If a student is in a classroom far away from the open bathroom, it takes more time to get there and back. This frustrates many students because if the closer bathrooms were open, they could get there quicker and miss less class time. Some students feel it’s unfair that everyone has to deal with this, even though not everyone broke the rules.
“It’s frustrating because there’s a bathroom closer to me, but it’s closed, so I have to walk way farther just to go to the open one. That means I end up missing more class time, which I don’t want to,” Said Rishson Goodlett, junior.While many students are annoyed by the bathroom closures, there are a few benefits. With fewer bathrooms open, it’s easier for staff to monitor them and stop rule-breaking. This can help keep students safer and reduce vaping or prohibited behaviors in restrooms. It may also make students think twice before doing anything wrong since they know there are fewer places to hide or break the rules.“Some bathrooms are more sensitive, and we’ve had issues like vaping and other behaviors in there. It triggers alarms. We’re trying to manage it better—not just to control it but to help prevent it too. It’s not ideal for anyone, but it’s part of the harm reduction process,” said Ms. Worthy, admin.
Closed bathrooms may help prevent some problems, but it also creates new ones for students. Finding a better solution could make the school feel more fair and comfortable for everyone.
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