By Nathan Park

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For as long as students can recall, our school bathrooms have been rundown and unsanitary. As a result of student vandalism, many of the toilets are clogged and some stall doors are broken to the point where they cannot lock or close.  “When you try to flush the toilet it doesn’t work sometimes, like the handles don’t work or people leave their nasty stuff in there,” explained Senior Pualani Chaulk. Restrooms are often without running sinks or soap. In some cases, restrooms had to be closed from public use because the vandalism is so severe. The atrocious conditions of our bathrooms are more serious than a high school cliché; it is an injustice that leads to safety and health issues.

 It only takes a few insensitive individuals to ruin the bathrooms for the rest of the student population. This small group of students has wasted toilet paper and paper towels by filling toilets with them until they are no longer able to flush. The backed up plumbing has made stalls hazardous to students’ health. “If the toilets aren’t going to flush then all the chemicals, like ammonia is left in there and that’s not good to breathe,” stated Chaulk. Also, soap has been drained from dispensers and thrown all over the floors and walls. So now students cannot wash their hands after using the bathroom and before eating lunch. “I think it’s becoming a rising concern. If there aren’t enough paper towels and soap, then people aren’t able to wash their hands and then if they are sick it’s easier to spread diseases and germs,” explained Hawaii State Student Council Representative Senior Christopher Easterling.

 There is no easy way out of having to face this problem because everyone needs to use the facilities.

It is an uncomfortable challenge to try to spend six hours in schools and not relieve oneself. All students want clean and wellstocked restrooms and when it does not meet their standards, they are not afraid to express dismay. “It smells funny in there and there’s a lot of graffiti that doesn’t get removed until a month later. It’s just very lowly maintained,” said Chaulk.

Students have every right to quality bathrooms. What is hypocritical is that they are not willing to do their part in keeping it maintained. When they know vandalism is happening in the school, they are not willing to do something to stop it. No one is afraid to complain about how terrible the bathrooms are, but no one has the courage to report or confront the cause of the problem.

 Also, vandalism is not the only root of the issue.  Some students forget to flush, because they are in a hurry or unconsciously take too much soap and paper towels. Even in the midst of our hectic lives, it is important to pay attention to what we are doing.

Understandably, MHS only has finite resources to keep bathrooms maintained and cannot afford to replace wasted materials. We have 12 custodians, 42 acres and a lot of toilets to clean. And yes, they always can do a better job but they can’t clean it every five minutes. It is not possible,” explained Assistant Principal Andrea Moore. Although the school’s infrastructure is old, it is regularly renovated and fixed but when equipment is vandalized school administrators are reluctant to spend time and money on repairs. “We are ready to get this stuff fixed and fixed fast. But again, once it is broken on purpose, we kind of take our time,” explained Moore.

 The school staff can only do so much to maintain facilities and prevent vandalism. As students, we must do our part to care for the environment around us. These are our bathrooms, so it is our responsibility to care for them. When we see vandalism happening, we must act to stop it. If your friends are damaging bathrooms, be brave and discourage them from doing it and if they refuse to listen, report them to the staff. It might ruin your friendship, but in the end, it is what is best for all. Those who witness the vandalism but do nothing to stop it are only worsening the situation, because you are giving the message that nobody cares. Yes, it sounds like an after school special, but you will make a difference in stopping the few who are ruining it for all.

We can break the status quo of having dilapidated restrooms. We do not have to settle for these unsanitary conditions and we do not have to allow ourselves to be the butt of someone’s joke. Let us work together to protect what is ours.