Staff Editorial: Students misuse bathroom privileges

Students+hide+in+the+bathroom+stalls+in+order+to+use+their+smoking+device+during+school+hours.+

Jane Hoffman

Students hide in the bathroom stalls in order to use their smoking device during school hours.

Red 'n' Green Staff

When taking a trip to the bathroom it is not uncommon to find different forms of vandalism and students loitering. Due to the extent of the vandalism the bathrooms have been shut down multiple times this year. It has been an occurring problem here at BHS that is rapidly growing. Not only that, but the number of students that take advantage of their bathroom passes is also increasing. Students who misuse their bathroom passes often lose the privilege to use their pass freely.
Often students use their bathroom passes to skip class and hang out in the bathroom. This is most likely the time that the vandalism is happening. Some forms of vandalism found at BHS are writing on the stalls, soap dispensers and paper towel dispensers being torn off and overall misuse of bathroom facilities. Now, comes the question of what are students really doing in the bathrooms? The Red ‘n’ Green staff believes that students are going to the bathroom not to use it for its intended purpose, but instead to hide away to vandalize or worse, to use a smoking device that so many students possess.
The use of these smoking devices seems to have given the bathrooms a new fruity smell. To most students and staff it is quite obvious that the smell is not coming from an air freshener. That does not stop those students from continuing to use their devices in the bathrooms. That is because it is difficult for teachers to catch students in the act. The students are very sneaky when it comes to using their device and oftentimes hide in the stalls so that people who come into the bathroom cannot see them.
The Red ‘n’ Green staff believes that misusing bathroom privileges is not only disrespectful to the school but also to the students. Students who respect their bathroom privileges often get roped into consequences that the students who are responsible for loitering and vandalism have to face. This is not fair to those students. If the loitering and vandalism keep up it may lead to bathroom privileges being more strict for the whole student body. It is also not fair to the custodians who have to clean up the mess that the students made. So the next time you see a student vandalizing or loitering in the bathroom remind them of the consequences they may have to face for that behavior.