photo courtesy of Meital Caldwell and Gabriella Moceri

By Meital Caldwell

The Champs Charter bathroom stalls have gaps between the doors. Whether it was intentional or not, the student body doesn’t like it. The lack of coverage can cause students discomfort and take away the sense of safety a bathroom stall should have.

Many students cover the gap with a strip of toilet paper because it makes them uncomfortable. The toilet paper is taken down after the day is over by the janitorial staff. It makes sense because their job is to keep the school clean, and the toilet paper isn’t necessarily clean. Unfortunately, it is annoying to have to put toilet paper up in the gaps repeatedly. 

I interviewed a few students to see what they think about the gaps in the bathroom stalls. Here is what they had to say.

Amaia S, a senior in the theater academy, says the gaps in the restrooms are annoying. “It’s tedious having to cover the gaps with toilet paper every time you use the restroom, or having to ask a friend to stand in front of the gaps,” she says.

Ella M, a freshman in Digital Media asks, “Why is it there? It’s, like, kind of an annoying oversight in the construction.” 

Lily S, a sophomore in theater academy, remarks on how big the gaps are and states the bathrooms can be uncomfortable, even if you’re just changing. She notes it’s especially uncomfortable because some people change in the bathrooms, specifically the pe bathrooms. “It can be weird,” she says.

Blake L, a freshman in Media Wheel, thinks the gaps in the bathroom stalls are weird because “Anyone can poke their head and look at you while you’re doing your business and that’s not nice.” She adds on after a bit more thought, “Like, I don’t want anyone to be peeking at me while I’m… you know… dropping bombs.”

Stone E, a freshman in theater academy, says, “I actually had a nightmare about the gaps in the bathroom stalls. Someone was looking at me through the stalls and I was staring back. So, overall, this shows how it can like subconsciously affect students because the fact that my brain even considers that important enough for me to have a nightmare about it should say enough about those gaps in the bathroom stalls.”

There are bathrooms behind the music rooms that are private and offer more security. Lots of people prefer those when taking a number two. There is also a bathroom in the dance/pe hall next to the theater room. These are both good alternatives if you need to use the bathroom and have an aversion to being seen when using the restroom. However, it can be a challenge when you are in class on the upper floors. 

While this certainly isn’t the most pressing problem the school is facing, fixing it in some way would provide a deeper sense of safety to many students at this school. There are definitely solutions that could be implemented. For example, perhaps putting a strip of duct tape over the gaps in the most exposing spots would provide a bit of security to students. If you find this problem to be stressful and want to take a step towards action, talk to the administrators. See what you can do to fix this problem the student body is facing. 🐾