Locked Bathrooms: are they really beneficial?
Locked bathrooms and no pass rules. These things were implemented as a way to keep students out of the hallways and in their classrooms, but is it as beneficial as it seems?
Why are bathrooms being locked?
Parkdale has had multiple instances where students have vandalized the bathrooms. “[There are] gang signs, we had some graffiti in the girls bathroom referring to another student,” said Ms. Brown, security personnel at parkdale. “You know the TikTok challenge with the toilet paper? That actually happened here on the first floor boys’ bathroom [and] the whole floor was covered.”
Our principal, Dr. Graves goes over the announcements nearly everyday to remind students not to hang out in the bathrooms and signs have been hung up on the doors telling students not to vandalize. Often times security will clock the bathrooms in order to keep these problems under control.
Should they be locked?
However, having the bathrooms locked all the time can put students at a disadvantage.
“It’s an inconvenience because sometimes you need to use [the bathroom]” says senior Joanna Ventura Gomez. “It’s really bad, when I go to the bathroom I have to walk all over the school to find one that’s open,” said an anonymous Parkdale student. “But you know there’s always a lot of people in them.”
For girls who are experiencing their periods, having a no pass rule can be problematic, and the breaks in between classes are far too short for students to get in and out of the bathrooms. “There have been several times when I had to use the bathroom, but the bathrooms were locked, or it was a “no hall pass” day. This has been very inconvenient for me, especially whenever I’m on my period,” said junior Katerin Machuca. “I have stained my pants before due to these circumstances. I know that they are doing these things to prevent people from skipping in the bathrooms, but it’s not benefiting the majority of the students.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, the average person should use the bathroom somewhere between six and eight times within a 24 hour period. Keeping the bathrooms locked and preventing students from being able to go to the bathroom through no pass rules is detrimental and can result in accidents and bathrooms becoming overcrowded. It is hard for the average person to hold everything in over a 8 hour period, and trying to wait until the end of the day to go to the restroom can have a negative effect on your bladder and digestive system.
Rather than restricting students, an alternate solution could be to regulate how many people are in the bathroom at a time. Having all of the bathrooms open may also keep students from crowding in the same one all day.
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Jada Adams is a junior at Parkdale High school and this is her first full year on staff. She looks forward to providing you with interesting and informative...
Samiah • Mar 28, 2023 at 6:45 pm
I agree locking the bathrooms wasn’t a smart move. Security and admin claim it’s for our “safety” but they can’t take away something that we all have to use for a couple of students. Holding ur bladder in for a whole day or possibly using the bathroom on yourself it outrageous to me this could cause problems to your bladder.
Nevaeh • Mar 28, 2023 at 7:35 am
I agree wholeheartedly with this, locking bathrooms was not the way to go if you wanted students to stop vandalizing the bathrooms and skipping class. It just makes it harder for students who actually have to use the bathroom to find a bathroom that isn’t locked or heavily overcrowded.
Cindy Gonzalez Lopez • Mar 27, 2023 at 7:08 am
Locking the bathroom are just unnecessary and should keep at least more bathroom open. I agreed with Joanna Ventura Gomez because they expect you to be back in a certain amount of time when you have to look for an open bathroom and walk all over the school to find one.
adetutu • Feb 15, 2023 at 8:06 am
Locking the bathrooms is so dumb to me like…Locking it is just blocking people who actuallu need to use the bthroom ability to use it. There are some people who wnat to soke or do whatever but thats on them not anybody else. And ik school is all about safety or whatever but they need to undersatnd people actually have stuff to do. An im gonna stand for the girls and say we need the bathroom way more and they decide to lock our the mostas if boys dont be smoking in the bathroom too. Girls have way mroe things to worry about concerning using the bathroom. And the fact that teachers arent letting kids go to the bathroom even when theres NOT a no pass day is crazy.
Verenice • Feb 15, 2023 at 7:17 am
I think keeping the bathrooms is not beneficial because some of the students don’t even contribute to vandalizing the bathrooms. I believe that it’s unfair to them.
Scarlet • Feb 14, 2023 at 7:16 am
I do agree that locked bathrooms are not necessary or beneficial because students do need the bathroom depending on different circumstances such as girls being on their period. Also taking away our bathroom rights just because a couple of students use the bathrooms incorrectly is not fair.
Anna • Feb 14, 2023 at 7:12 am
I agree, there are barely any bathrooms open. The only two bathrooms open would be sometimes one by the gym or the one in the 240s hallway upstairs.
Lilly • Feb 14, 2023 at 7:12 am
I think keeping the bathrooms locked is a bad idea and has a negative impact on all students. Locking the bathroom doesn’t stop skipping or people from smoking in them, they’ll just find somewhere else.
christiana • Feb 14, 2023 at 7:11 am
I don´t think the bathroom locking is always a good idea, I understand some kids go there to do other things but there are kids who really do need to use the bathroom.
Jose • Oct 13, 2022 at 7:10 am
I would agree that the bathroom’s being locked is a bad idea and that this action affects the majority negatively.