Opinion: Our bathrooms stink
School restrooms could use an upgrade
By Quin Miller
Published Feb. 26, 2018
As students in a school, we are only allowed to use the amenities that are in the school. Aitkin High School is far outdated in comparison to other schools in the surrounding areas. As an athlete I travel to many schools in a typical year and use the amenities that school has to offer in the way of locker rooms, gyms, and bathrooms.
The bathrooms in Aitkin High School are outdated to say the least. The bathrooms are painted bright orange, blue, or green. The stalls in the bathroom either don’t lock properly or do not close at all. The urinals are squished together and have no dividers. The toilets and urinals are manual flushing, which in turn leads to people “forgetting” to flush. “My biggest concern is that the stall doors can be pushed open,” said David Curtiss, a 12th grade student. “I just don’t like using the bathroom at school.”
The schools that I travel to for sports keep their bathrooms clean and updated. The toilets and urinals have automatic flushers, which help to keep the bathroom presentable and clean. The stalls in the bathroom shut smoothly and lock completely. I feel safe using the bathroom in other schools rather than here at my own school. As a school, I feel the students should come first and part of that includes keeping the bathrooms updated. Students and staff use all use these at one point or another throughout the day, so they should be updated, clean, and presentable.
There are a few things that I as a student think the school district could do to fix the problems in the bathroom. One, paint the bathrooms a different colors than the old colors. Two, get automatic flushing toilets. Three, put dividers in between the urinals. Fourth, get more stalls in the bathrooms, and fix the stalls so they shut tightly.
Published Feb. 26, 2018
As students in a school, we are only allowed to use the amenities that are in the school. Aitkin High School is far outdated in comparison to other schools in the surrounding areas. As an athlete I travel to many schools in a typical year and use the amenities that school has to offer in the way of locker rooms, gyms, and bathrooms.
The bathrooms in Aitkin High School are outdated to say the least. The bathrooms are painted bright orange, blue, or green. The stalls in the bathroom either don’t lock properly or do not close at all. The urinals are squished together and have no dividers. The toilets and urinals are manual flushing, which in turn leads to people “forgetting” to flush. “My biggest concern is that the stall doors can be pushed open,” said David Curtiss, a 12th grade student. “I just don’t like using the bathroom at school.”
The schools that I travel to for sports keep their bathrooms clean and updated. The toilets and urinals have automatic flushers, which help to keep the bathroom presentable and clean. The stalls in the bathroom shut smoothly and lock completely. I feel safe using the bathroom in other schools rather than here at my own school. As a school, I feel the students should come first and part of that includes keeping the bathrooms updated. Students and staff use all use these at one point or another throughout the day, so they should be updated, clean, and presentable.
There are a few things that I as a student think the school district could do to fix the problems in the bathroom. One, paint the bathrooms a different colors than the old colors. Two, get automatic flushing toilets. Three, put dividers in between the urinals. Fourth, get more stalls in the bathrooms, and fix the stalls so they shut tightly.