Imagine sitting in class when you suddenly realize you have to use the bathroom. You write your name on the sign-out sheet, take the pass and head to the nearest student bathroom — to find a total disaster. Soap dispensers are missing, paper towels clogging the drains and inappropriate writing is all over the walls. Even worse, you notice one of your fellow students filming two others fighting while the smell of flavored vape fills the air. Ida B. Wells High School has a serious bathroom problem.
All of the student bathrooms at IBW are in unsanitary and poor condition. From littering to sinks and doors ripped off the walls, conditions often get to the point where bathrooms are completely locked. “When bathrooms are closed [it’s] almost entirely due to vandalism, mostly the boys bathrooms,” said Katie Parnell, Lead Campus Safety Associate at IBW.
Students skipping class to hide in the bathroom is exacerbated because it’s the only place they can conceal their phones. “Some students, they’re overwhelmed, they need a break, and they want to get on their phone,” said Cheryl Bell, the IBW nurse. “This encourages a culture of using the bathroom to meet up with friends and post on social media.”
“[Seemingly] due to the way someone looks or acts, there have been fights in our boys’ restrooms before,” said IBW Campus Safety Associate, Jake Lang. Students meeting up in the bathrooms causes conflicts between both students and staff. “It has become the norm, that when there’s an altercation [regardless of location] people take out their phone and video it. So that has also happened in the bathroom,” said IBW Principal, Ayesha Coning.
The single-stall bathrooms have their own set of problems. “There’ve been reports of inappropriate behavior such as sexual activity and bullying in the gender-neutral bathrooms,” said Coning. The rule-breaking regarding single-stall bathrooms causes long wait times, meaning those who need to use them for medical or gender-affirming reasons cannot. Harassment is also a concern, with students reporting negative, gender-based interactions with other students when they use these bathrooms.
Bullying isn’t just a concern in the single-stall bathrooms, but also in every student bathroom. “Bullying occurs at school unfortunately whether it be in the bathrooms, hallways or classrooms,” said Parnell. “We take bullying very seriously and all reported cases are investigated by administrators.”
Substance use, particularly vaping, is another bathroom issue. When students vape in the bathrooms, it not only harms themselves, but other students.
Vaping is known to cause worse lung problems than normal cigarettes. Students who have upper respiratory issues or who are just recovering from an illness would be more susceptible to the immediate consequences of inhaling e-cigarette vapor. “For students with asthma or are recovering from an illness [with] someone [who] is vaping in the bathroom [sic]can cause issues,” said Bell.
There is not only a physical health risk to other students, but also a mental health risk. Students are afraid that they will be accused of using substances in the bathroom because they were present when other students were doing so. “Students have expressed concern because they were just doing what they were supposed to but happened to be in there when identified,” said Lang. This is extremely concerning because it means students are less likely to report inappropriate behavior to staff, allowing it to perpetuate.
How can all of this happen?
The root of all the problems starts with students not using bathrooms as bathrooms, but as places to spend time together during their classes. “Bathrooms are gross, I don’t know why students hang out in the bathrooms so much,” said Bell.
The inherent privacy of bathrooms means that things cannot be constantly monitored. Filming in bathrooms is illegal, and with limited security guards and admin — who all have other jobs and responsibilities as well — it’s nearly impossible to monitor all 13 of IBW’s bathrooms. Many students take advantage of this, and inappropriate behavior slips through the cracks.
Fixing the IBW bathroom problems relies heavily on the school community. To keep students from harming themselves or others, reports have to be made. To have better conditions, students need to respect the space. To keep bathrooms open, students need to follow the rules. To feel safe, students need to stop harassing one another.
“If somebody is vaping or using drugs or alcohol in the bathroom, that confidential report is an act of kindness. We as school administrators would like to be spending less time on bathroom issues, said Coning. “We would like our high school students just to use the bathroom and behave appropriately.”
