Students around BASH have noticed that bathrooms closures in certain sections of the school. While some students know about this, most don’t fully understand why.
One thing we must first address when discussing the closure of bathrooms is, if it’s even allowed. Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, Léo Heller, on an official statement said that “The human right to sanitation entitles everyone, without discrimination, to have physical and affordable access to sanitation, in all spheres of life, that is safe, hygienic, secure, socially and culturally acceptable and that provides privacy and ensures dignity.” So yes, while having access to bathrooms is a human right, access can be limited which we see in the closure of some but not all bathrooms. Over time though, keeping bathrooms safe, hygienic, and secure, is becoming increasingly difficult for staff due to student vandalism.
Bathroom vandalism was brought up previously at BASH. In 2021 BASH was victim to the “devious lick” TikTok trend, where students would steal school property (usually bathroom appliances) and record the aftermath in an attempt to gain attention on the social media platform. (For more information about this trend see left). However according to, Mr. Sparks a principal at BASH, the bathroom vandalizations have “never been to this extent.”
With a school this big, managing and monitoring every bathroom can prove to be difficult. If kids overflow a toilet, for example, the entire bathroom must be sanitized, which can take a lot of time, man power, and resources. “It’s disrespectful to the school,” says Mrs. Evans, a principal at BASH, “Students are here to learn, you’re only hurting your fellow students.” Closing some of the bathrooms is to avoid multiple bathrooms being vandalized at once, as well as it makes monitoring halls easier. According to Mrs. Evans, “We’ve done multiple things including having teacher monitor halls between periods, police patrolling halls, and having students leave bags outside when using the bathroom outside of the cafeteria.”
The continued destruction of bathroom and school property is harmful to students ability to learn, and as such, punishment to those caught vandalizing will be charged with a ten day suspension, institutional vandalism, and police charges. Any students who have any information are encouraged to report it, whether through staff members and email, students may also submit information anonymously. “Students should have pride for their school,” Mrs. Evans says, “Students need to step up and say this is wrong.”
