Stinger Press
In a series of interviews, 100% students admitted that they tend to avoid using school washrooms due to the horrible condition they are in. Some students pointed out bathrooms in certain areas of the school that they like to use because they know that they will function properly. As for the other washrooms, students tend to stay away from because they know that they are no good at all.
A problem that the students often point out is the doors and locks; most of the time, if you use a stall with a door, odds are you will not have a lock (or the lock is broken). When someone has to go to the bathroom, it’s nice to have a toilet that works. The problem here at Simonds is that many of the toilets don’t flush so there is no point to even try to go to the washroom. Students complain that the toilet paper is too thin. If you can find a stall that is not out of order, cleaning up afterwards is a difficult situation. Soap dispensers are rarely refilled and because of the superstition that people spit in the soap, no one uses them anyway. Even if they could wash their hands, there is rarely ever any paper towel to dry them with.
Another thing students complain about is the mirrors. The mirrors that are presently there are all scratched up and cloudy, and in some bathrooms (mostly the men’s) there is not even a mirror at all. There is also a problem with graffiti that degrades others. There is no respect for the washrooms that are old and broken.
Students think that fixing up the washrooms is a priority. Some people think that there should be more trans gender bathrooms situated throughout the school (since there is only one located near the office). Another good idea is to make the toilets, sinks, soap dispensers and paper towel dispensers automatic for easier usage. Locks on the doors would make for a more reassuring experience and new mirrors would be greatly appreciated. If a new coat of paint could be added, and the sinks would be cleaned more often, the washrooms would have a better over all look and students would definitely use them more.
How long have the restrooms been in bad shape?
Students who graduated from this school 20 years ago said that the washrooms were in similar condition as they presently are. Doors were missing from stalls, and stalls that had doors didn’t have working locks. Paper towel always went amongst the missing, and the overall condition of the washroom was dirty. Back then they never made any improvements to those problems either. They just let them get worse. Even then students avoided using the washrooms of the school. It has been long enough, changes should come soon.
Why haven’t changes been made yet?
It is not the schools decision to make large changes such as washrooms. A work requisition form has been sent to the Anglophone South school District Office in hopes for the go ahead to renovate. Once the school is permitted to go forth with the renovations, they would like to make the toilets automatic and have new doors put in. They would also like to slap on a fresh coat of paint and put in new lights and counter tops. The estimate cost for all these changes is roughly $5000 per bathroom. Though students may be destructive and tend to
damage the bathroom, the blame for the problems can also be placed on the age of the school. Overtime, students grew into the habit of not caring about worsening the conditions because they were already bad. However if changes were to be made, students would most likely treat the new restrooms with respect. The situation is a priority that is being looked into.
by Samantha Hastings