Students arriving early or staying late for extracurricular activities are now facing a frustrating dilemma: only one bathroom is available. Recent changes at South Windsor High School have sparked conversation, particularly around the new limited bathroom operating hours. Hallway restrooms are locked before 7:25 a.m. and after 2:00 p.m., leaving students with fewer options during crucial parts of the day.
Students have been disappointed when they come to find that the bathroom is locked, and if they need to use the restroom they have to wait for a stall to be available in the one unlocked bathroom or wait in line for one of the single-stall bathrooms by the cafeteria.
Additionally, when school is over and there are students staying after for clubs and extra help, no matter what their location in the building is, they have to go to the bathrooms in the front of the school. Not to mention, there is usually an administrator outside the bathrooms counting heads and facilitating the usage of the bathrooms.
In an interview with The Prowl, South Windsor High School student Karina Vazquez expressed her frustration, stating, “The operating hours should be discarded.” While the restricted bathroom hours are intended to prevent inappropriate behavior, they have created significant challenges for students who are not involved in such actions but are still affected by the limited access.
The choice to implement operation hours within the bathrooms is based on the frequency of use and supervision. Data was collected to determine which bathrooms remained open prior to the start of the school day. These bathrooms include the media center hallway, the math hallway, and the two single stalls in the front of the building.
Administration and teachers have been assigned to monitor the bathrooms, not only in the morning but also throughout the school day.
The question remains: How effective can controlling the bathroom hours be? After every period, bathrooms can be found filled with people mistreating its intended purpose. Every bathroom has become a social square for many different reasons. With this, what is the true effectiveness of locking the bathrooms for twenty minutes prior to the start of the school day?
