Early Bathroom Closures Causing Conundrums on Campus
Concerns are raised among students and staff who are faced with a lack of bathroom access at the end of the school day.
By Riyana Siva
Concerns are raised among students and staff who are faced with a lack of bathroom access at the end of the school day.
By Riyana Siva
This year, Pioneer’s campus has had multiple issues in regards to a lack of bathrooms. Another issue has popped up regarding bathrooms, with them closing too early.
Every day, bathrooms are closed around 3:15, five minutes prior to the end of sixth period, as dictated by a policy set three years ago by the administrative team.
“We have been doing that for years now and the reason is so the bathrooms do not get vandalized after school,” said Assistant Principal of Student Services Tim Gavello.
Although bathrooms are supposed to be closed five minutes prior to the end of the school day, some students have noticed that they are closed much earlier. Sara Maccioni, 10, feels that the early closing of bathrooms has posed an unnecessary obstacle in her school day.
“I think we should stop doing this because it is pretty pointless to keep closing bathrooms 30 minutes before school ends. It would be a lot easier to have them open so students don’t have to waste 10 minutes just trying to find one that’s open,” said Maccioni.
Naomi Harris, 9, has had similar experiences to Maccioni and dislikes this policy.
“It has negatively affected class time because you spend time walking to the bathrooms only for them to be closed and then have to walk back again,” said Harris.
Alongside students, teachers have also noticed that bathrooms are being closed earlier than the official time and physics teacher Trevor Davis recognizes that it is due to the staffing shortage.
“We don't have many campus supervisors, and when the bell rings, they need to be able to keep an eye on students instead of going around locking restrooms. I assume they do it early so that they're able to focus on other stuff at 3:20,” said Davis.
Although lack of staff might contribute to the early closing, another reason behind this decision is vandalization of the bathrooms.
“To my understanding, the main reason they are closing the restrooms is because the students will go in and trash them and by trash them I mean do graffiti and throw trash in and clog the toilets, making a big mess right before they go,” said custodian Carlos Villegas.
Although it might be hard to prevent the early bathroom closure, there are other ways staff can help ensure that this closure doesn’t negatively impact students.
“I think that teachers can give us students a heads up and maybe they can close the bathrooms all at a certain time so everyone knows,” said Ethan Pham, 9.
A more active approach toward this problem can also be taken by students that are affected.
“I would say it's on the students to actually bring it up if it's an issue. Use your voices and talk to the admin, if there is a reason why bathrooms are getting closed early they should disclose it, if there isn't then give concrete reasons why we should keep them open until the end of the day,” said dance teacher Emma Jahde.
Although the reasons behind the early bathroom closures are unclear, whether it be driven by staffing or disciplinary issues, it is clear that they are impacting many students on campus.
“I feel like the school has a tendency to sacrifice the wellbeing of the majority of students just to avoid dealing with the negative behaviors of a minority,” said Bo Ying Chen, 12.
Every day, bathrooms are closed around 3:15, five minutes prior to the end of sixth period, as dictated by a policy set three years ago by the administrative team.
“We have been doing that for years now and the reason is so the bathrooms do not get vandalized after school,” said Assistant Principal of Student Services Tim Gavello.
Although bathrooms are supposed to be closed five minutes prior to the end of the school day, some students have noticed that they are closed much earlier. Sara Maccioni, 10, feels that the early closing of bathrooms has posed an unnecessary obstacle in her school day.
“I think we should stop doing this because it is pretty pointless to keep closing bathrooms 30 minutes before school ends. It would be a lot easier to have them open so students don’t have to waste 10 minutes just trying to find one that’s open,” said Maccioni.
Naomi Harris, 9, has had similar experiences to Maccioni and dislikes this policy.
“It has negatively affected class time because you spend time walking to the bathrooms only for them to be closed and then have to walk back again,” said Harris.
Alongside students, teachers have also noticed that bathrooms are being closed earlier than the official time and physics teacher Trevor Davis recognizes that it is due to the staffing shortage.
“We don't have many campus supervisors, and when the bell rings, they need to be able to keep an eye on students instead of going around locking restrooms. I assume they do it early so that they're able to focus on other stuff at 3:20,” said Davis.
Although lack of staff might contribute to the early closing, another reason behind this decision is vandalization of the bathrooms.
“To my understanding, the main reason they are closing the restrooms is because the students will go in and trash them and by trash them I mean do graffiti and throw trash in and clog the toilets, making a big mess right before they go,” said custodian Carlos Villegas.
Although it might be hard to prevent the early bathroom closure, there are other ways staff can help ensure that this closure doesn’t negatively impact students.
“I think that teachers can give us students a heads up and maybe they can close the bathrooms all at a certain time so everyone knows,” said Ethan Pham, 9.
A more active approach toward this problem can also be taken by students that are affected.
“I would say it's on the students to actually bring it up if it's an issue. Use your voices and talk to the admin, if there is a reason why bathrooms are getting closed early they should disclose it, if there isn't then give concrete reasons why we should keep them open until the end of the day,” said dance teacher Emma Jahde.
Although the reasons behind the early bathroom closures are unclear, whether it be driven by staffing or disciplinary issues, it is clear that they are impacting many students on campus.
“I feel like the school has a tendency to sacrifice the wellbeing of the majority of students just to avoid dealing with the negative behaviors of a minority,” said Bo Ying Chen, 12.