Many students have mixed opinions towards the campus bathrooms. These cold tiled rooms filled with broken toilets, non-functioning sinks, and floors covered in trash and paper towels are all students have access to for 6+ hours a day. Unfortunately, when bathrooms aren’t cleaned or kept in good shape, students tend to wait until they get home. This act of “holding it” is very harmful and can cause weakening bladder muscles or even urinary tract infections.

So many students avoid using these spaces even when it is not healthy for them to do so. When asked, David Dastmozeh, a senior at Taft, said: “Kids don’t clean after themselves, and bathrooms are always dirty by nutrition.” If students can make more of an effort to clean after themselves, then this would help them have a pleasant and hygienic bathroom that they can feel comfortable using. I spoke to David Dastmozeh, a senior at Taft High School, and he said, ” The issue is not so much with Taft, but with the students that do not respect the bathrooms. However, Taft can improve the bathrooms by fixing the stall doors, making them bigger, and having a functioning door.” If students can clean after themselves, then this would help the school have a pleasant and hygienic bathroom. Sherwin Navi, senior at Taft High School, stated that “the bathrooms are very dirty and not sanitary. Also, [they] never have paper towels.” He feels that this problem can be solved easily by “having the bathrooms cleaned twice a day.” Maybe the janitors can clean and restock the bathroom more often, so the students have the supplies they need to clean up after themselves. Lia Hassas, a junior, said, “the bathrooms at Taft have proven to be unreliable and have fallen short of materials such as paper towels, soap, and toilet paper. These issues can easily be solved if the school can provide more materials and make sure they are always accessible.” Many students believe our campus bathrooms could use some work, but helping the overworked maintenance staff can be the first step students take. Cleaning up after yourself, throwing away trash, and being careful not to break or damage sinks and stalls can help every student on campus. These are just a few things that we can do to improve this situation. What are your thoughts on the bathrooms at Taft High School?