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Photo courtesy of Mariacristina Calcagno (10-1)
Daily, mysterious flooding on the floor. Sinks that require a hand on the faucet to run a thin stream of murky water angled towards the sink wall. Stalls that don't latch. No toilet paper or menstrual products. Student misconduct. These are all conditions that plague the Masterman girls’ bathrooms.
To begin, some numbers. According to U.S. News, which released its most recent high school rankings in April 2022, Mastmerman had a student population of 1,204. Fifty-three percent of the student population was female-identifying, i.e. there were 638 girls in the building. A map provided by the School District of Philadelphia providing information on a school’s facilities listed Masterman’s “school utilization” (defined as “the ratio between the number of students enrolled at a school and the school’s total capacity”) during the 2021-2022 school year as “inadequate,” pointing to poor facilities as well. Though the bathroom-to-student ratio aligns with public bathroom regulations in the state (see section 41.93 of Pennsylvania Code Title 34—for this purpose, we can consider students as employees), the bathroom's poor conditions, combined with the time pressures of getting to class, have been viewed as less than hygienic or practical according to a Google Form surveying the female-identifying high school students.
One pertinent issue that plagues the Masterman girl’s bathroom is flooding. In the form mentioned above, which surveyed female-identifying Masterman high schoolers, 37.1 percent of students reported flooding as the top issue they would like to see addressed in bathrooms. A tenth-grader commented, “we want clean facilities with no mystery water on the floor.” Indeed, this “mystery water” accumulates on the floor of multiple stalls daily, from first thing in the morning on throughout the day. This can be verified by a Voices member who has captured video footage of a toilet leaking prior to the school day’s official start. Furthermore, adding to this issue, the floor is uneven, causing water to puddle. As an 11th-grader described, “the water on the floor is deep enough that it can get on the cuffs of your pants and that is just disgusting.”
Three other facilities-based issues reported included multiple stalls not locking, a lack of toilet paper, and dysfunctional sinks. An eleventh-grade student shared how the former two problems affect their day: “When there is a line of 5 girls and only one stall that both locks and has toilet paper, it is difficult to get to class on time.” Another 11th-grader reported on her experiences: “there is no toilet paper, so I have to find a stall that does have paper or I just do not use the bathroom, and some of the stalls do not lock so I just end up not going.” She added that “the sinks do not work so [she has] to look for a different sink that works”; referring to the majority of the sinks that require one hand to keep the faucet on—unhygienic even if meant to be—and then, only a thin stream of water is produced. Unclean water has also been reported, with one student noting that “once, the water coming from the sink was yellow”; similar instances have been reported in the boys’ bathroom.
Photo courtesy of Mariacristina Calcagno (10-1)
Apart from facilities-based issues, student-driven issues have also been reported: abuse of menstrual products stocked by Masterman’s Student Government Association (SGA), and loitering.
On February 3rd, SGA gathered high school students in an assembly focused on an issue related to the girl’s bathrooms: misuse of menstrual products, which SGA provides in each bathroom. At the behest of the Masterman administration, class and grade representatives took to the auditorium stage to speak on the subject; two significant problems, they noted, were students incorrectly disposing of the products and vandalism of the bathrooms with these products. In an interview with SGA President Maya Salzman (12-1), she expressed disappointment in the student body—also hypothesizing that it is more the fault of the middle school rather than the high school (SGA also held an assembly for the middle school)—for being irresponsible with the materials, which for some families are difficult to afford. She noted, "After a week [of supplying the products] there was a lot of vandalization.” Overall, 8.8 percent of survey respondents voted misuse of period products as the leading issue that they would like to see improved. A junior elaborated on how this exploitation affects her: “When our school first introduced the free period product dispensers, it felt really nice to have them around in case of unexpected emergencies…[but once] I had to go to 4 different bathrooms before I made it to a floor that had something left…That was a terrible experience I will never forget.”
The next documented nuisance referenced in the survey resulting from student misbehavior is loitering; often, students congregate in the restrooms to talk to friends. For example, one survey respondent wrote, “Every time I go to the bathroom, there [are] four to seven people just sitting on the floor in the disability-accessible stall for…the entire period…it sometimes makes me uncomfortable, and it stops those who actually need it from using it!”
A majority of survey respondents shared negative emotions about the restrooms; none chose the “very satisfied” option, 8.3 percent said they were “satisfied” with the standards while 54.2 percent selected “dissatisfied,” and 37.5 percent checked the “very dissatisfied” box. When asked to describe the girls’ restrooms in a few words, a minority looked optimistic with answers such as “doing its best” and “generally better than most high school bathrooms;” the majority used words like, or similar to, “dirty,” “disgusting,” “broken,” and “hazardous.” A sophomore explained how the restrooms’ condition affects her day: “It [the condition] often leads to a very long line for the stalls, and getting marked late for class is not a good idea.” Multiple students referenced simply steering clear from using the restroom (evidenced by quotes such as “I try to avoid going to the bathroom because it feels unclean”); this can be uncomfortable and even unhealthy.
After raising awareness about the restroom facilities, receiving funding to repair and maintain facilities remains a possible solution to improving the women’s restrooms. Some issues could be addressed more quickly than others; for example, toilet paper could be stored in a designated area for students to access when needed. Regarding menstrual products, the same eleventh grader who shared her story about the abuse of the supplies suggested in the survey that “middle schoolers should be educated on hygiene and the menstrual cycle from earlier ages.”
To expand, funding would assist in bettering the facilities of the restrooms. Though Masterman’s Home and School Association (HSA) has expressed that the bathrooms’ conditions are not their responsibility at previous meetings, in an email interview they responded that “...HSA will be happy to elevate these concerns to the administration and suggest bathroom repairs as one of the priorities to be considered as a major project for the school to carry out with HSA support.” A future fundraiser and additional money from the administration/HSA could work towards restocking toilet paper and fixing the locks on the stalls before the end of the 2022-2023 scholastic year, while improving structural issues regarding plumbing and sinks would most likely remain a long-term project which, perhaps in the future, Masterman will initiate.
If you use the girls’ restrooms at Masterman and are interested in sharing your thoughts about the facilities and/or other issues that affect the bathrooms, we invite you to fill out the Google Form referenced in the article. You can access it by going to https://forms.gle/9mVE5t3ecoJX2G8G7.
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