The Bathroom Blues

Going to the bathroom should be the least of a student's worries in September, but that's not currently the case at DHS.

The bathroom situation has been a problem since the middle of last year when mask mandates began to ease and COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. This provided "wandering" students more opportunity to roam the halls and occupy the bathrooms.

Things quickly got out of hand, causing frustration for all.

The administration is looking at this issue through a lens of safety and respect. “We’ve begun the school year with the same setup as last year: bathroom monitors outside C-wing bathrooms; sign-in sheets for the boys' bathroom; and B, C, and E-wing bathrooms for female students, along with a gender-neutral bathroom in the upper C-wing," stated Assistant Principal Pete Cavanaugh.

The reasoning, he said, for making only one boys' bathroom accessible is simple: “Students weren’t being safe and they weren't using the bathrooms in an appropriate manner. There was more damage last year in the boys' bathroom, which led to narrowing down, so we could make sure there was accountability there.”

Many male students are pushing for more bathrooms to be opened, as space has become a legitimate concern. “It’s hard to use the bathroom when so many students are crowded in there,” said one DHS student.

Cavanaugh is pushing for trust between students and administration, so we can work together to say “enough is enough” and ultimately achieve the goal of opening up more bathrooms.