Flush the old: The conditions of the school bathrooms

The bathroom conditions at Delta High School have been an issue with the students for a while and the problem hasn’t been solved. At the beginning of the day, they are clean but towards the end,  they aren’t the best. The locks on some stall doors don’t work. Toilets and sinks can mal

function condition and don’t always work. Part of the problem is students are not properly taking care of the bathrooms and most things are outdated. The janitors and administration are working on the issue but things take time. 

Emma Kappel, a freshman at Delta High School said, “They’re gross, and most of the time, not all the toilets work. They make me not want to go to the bathroom at school.”

Bathrooms are meant to be clean places that students can use throughout the day. With all the sickness going around, it’s important for the bathroom to be clean to prevent this. Even the staff at Delta High School is starting to notice the deteriorating conditions. The toilets don’t flush, the sinks are not working properly, and trash is on the floor. “They need to be maintained, like a professional needs to come in,” said Danielle Lopez, a teacher at Delta High school. 

The bathrooms in the locker room aren’t any better than the others. Sinks often spray you if you try to turn them on, making it difficult for teachers and students to wash their hands. Along with the sinks spraying you, they are often not clean, with hair and other gunk in them. 

“They frequently seem like they are broken,” said Lopez. This can have a serious impact on students and their experiences at school. Going to the bathroom in a place of education is a right, not a privilege. 

Along with the things in the bathroom not working, students are abusing the bathrooms. Many students use the bathrooms as a place to hang out, vape, or just ditch class. Vaping has become a severe problem throughout high schools and even middle schools. This furthers the issue of the bathrooms at Delta High School and makes them harder and harder to use as they can become crowded.