Campus Reflects on Bathroom Policy
As students return to the classroom once again this year, many will face countless different syllabi from their roster of teachers. While each policy may differ for each course, one remains the same: the school’s bathroom policy.
This year, teachers have been required by the administration to include the same policy statement regarding students’ bathroom use during class. It states that students will only be allowed to leave with teacher permission, hall pass included, and not within the first or last ten minutes of class. Additionally, students may only leave one at a time and must leave all possessions inside the room. The policy also mentions that those who are consistently missing class for extended periods are subjected to disciplinary action.
The administration is keen on strictly enforcing the bathroom policy this year, claiming this will help reduce the number of property damage, student conflicts, and overall provide a safer campus environment.
According to a survey of 193 students, most participants reported having neutral feelings towards the bathroom policy. Around 10% claimed to have overwhelmingly negative feelings, while around 5% had overwhelmingly positive feelings. Additionally, a majority of students considered the policy to be relatively reasonable. Only around 7% deemed the policy unreasonable.
Regarding the specifics within the policy, teachers seem supportive of the ten-ten rule.
“I noticed that when the bell rings, the hallways are more clear,” said English teacher Elisa Frozena when asked about how the policy has affected campus so far.
Photography teacher Karissa Robinette also expressed her support for the rule, stating that, “The reason I like the ten-ten is because I want to get the class started first before I have kids disappearing and stuff. And then the last ten minutes, I’m trying to finish up my class, and then I realize somebody’s gone.”
Students, for the most part, believe the rule should be the first and last five minutes of class, rather than ten.
“I can understand teachers wanting students to be present during instruction; however, a major reason a lot of kids use the bathroom during class is because they are so incredibly crowded during break and lunch. The last ten minutes of class is fine, I guess, but I think students should be allowed to go during the first ten minutes so long as they make it quick,” said student Liya Kennedy.
While opinions regarding the bathroom policy are largely similar across students, some feel conflicted whether the consequences for “frequent flyers” are reasonable or not.
“Some students may have medical issues or classes too far to reasonably go during break, so being in trouble for that kind of thing would be unfair and annoying,” said senior Michael Lawver.
Samit Rath also had similar feelings for the rule, stating, “Not really, unless it’s for good reason. If they’re caught doing something other than going to the bathroom, then it makes sense, but some people genuinely have to use the restroom consistently during a class period.”
He also comments upon the fact that this statement proves even more true for classes that occur two periods after break or lunch, claiming that there’s often “not enough time during the passing period.”
I understand that teachers would like students to remain in class to receive instruction and the school would like to reduce the amount of loiterers on campus during class time, but I think that the new policy can be more detrimental to students who already follow the rules than being effective in restricting people who wander around campus during class. Students who follow the rules are further restricted by this bathroom policy while students who didn’t follow the rules before will still likely do whatever they want. If only one person is allowed outside of the classroom at a time, a student who actually needs to use the restroom may be prevented from doing so by a student who is wandering about. In addition, this policy forces students to use the restroom in the middle of class, where the teacher could be in the middle of a lecture, whereas allowing the student to use the restroom at the beginning or end of class may allow for less interuptions (if the teacher has not started class yet or has ended class already).
I totally agree with everything you clearly explained. It can be hard getting to use the bathroom during passing period, break and lunch because its either people just stalling in there or just not wanting to go to class.
The bathroom policy is bad
I agree, Sometimes its too hard to use the Bathroom during lunch/break because its too crowded.