Bathrooms are a part of life. Everybody has to use them from time to time, which makes them particularly bothersome if they are sub-optimal. Bathrooms at HBHS have several issues that make them unpleasant for all students and faculty at the school. 

Having attended the school for four years, it’s evident that bathrooms degrade throughout the day with continual use. They may be spotless in the morning, but get worse period after period. By the end of the day, some bathrooms can be practically, or literally unusable, especially for low occupancy ones, where there’s only one toilet that can go out. This is a particular issue in the 3 front building men’s bathrooms. Tim Scalia, ‘28, said “I won’t use the urinals unless I know no one is near.” For men who feel uncomfortable using a non-private urinal, there’s only one toilet that can go out in these bathrooms before they need to take an extra couple minutes of class time to find another one. 

Speaking of privacy and safety, that is another major concern for students at HBHS that is arguably more pressing than cleanliness. Several bathrooms are known to be hangouts spots that most students do not want to interrupt. Stumbling upon these hangouts can make students feel uncomfortable or unsafe, and cause them to take extra class time to find a bathroom that is safer for them. Another concern in every bathroom is the door gap between stalls. Andrea Happy, ‘26, said “the gap in the door is kinda huge. Obviously no one is gonna look, but it’s uncomfortable to clearly see someone walk by and know who they are by what you see.”

One issue that affects both students and staff is occupancy. English teacher Lisa Danis mentioned that there are very few faculty bathrooms available in the school. From speaking with staff, there seems to only be four (three depending on if you’d count the counseling bathroom as open to all faculty). Danis said “You only get 3 and a half minutes between classes to use the bathrooms. If you rush between classes, and the only bathroom available to you is occupied, then you have to wait another hour for an opportunity. That can be a health risk.” 

Occupancy seems to be a universal issue between students and staff. There are five bathrooms readily available to students (there are other bathrooms, but students need to be in specific scenarios to use them, such as using the weight room, or visiting the nurses office), and if any one of them are piled up or unsafe, students need to travel to another one, and hope that it is better. 

Many of these problems are infrastructural, and difficult to fix without extensive funds, but small changes can make bathrooms more comfortable for students. Danis suggested having scheduled checks on the bathrooms to make sure nothing horrible has happened in them. This would reduce problems such as clogged/broken toilets, messes, and unsafe gatherings. 

Fixing these problems is important as well, not only for student comfort, but also health. Dani Rosenblatt, ‘27 said “I don’t use the school bathrooms anymore,” and they’re not the only one. Many students will reasonably avoid using the bathrooms all day due to these problems. 

This increases health risks related to dehydration and infections due to not drinking water or not using the facilities for extended periods of time. Changes may not be easy, but they are necessary for the safety and health of everyone at HBHS.