Wilde Lake administration has implemented new bathroom passes and placed hall monitors outside of bathrooms to combat the ongoing issue of students roaming the halls during class.
The current solutions to the problem have not improved the situation, according to students.
Social Studies teacher and hall monitor Ms. Cynthia Platou says last year the staff was concerned about students’ misuse of the bathrooms, which is why a change was made regarding the bathroom system.
Security assistant Ms. Alana Lake says the change was meant to establish a “controlled environment and ensure all students are where they’re supposed to be.”
Last year, Wilde Lake used orange paper passes for students using the restroom. Now, each classroom has two lanyards with the room number printed on each. Each floor has a specific colored lanyard pass so teachers can easily identify what floor a student should be on based off of their lanyard.
The lanyard passes have already caused problems, as Science teacher Ms. Erika Hite says both of her lanyard passes have been lost. She has been using orange paper passes instead, but the paper passes run out quickly, according to Ms Hite.
Ms. Platou says the lanyard passes make it easier for staff to understand why students are in the hallway.
“I feel like I have a better sense of who’s in the hallway and for what reason because now, when I see an orange pass, I know it’s not supposed to be for the restroom,” she said. Additionally, Ms. Platou says not having to write out bathroom passes gives her more class time to teach.
Still, the problem of student bathroom misuse persists despite locking the bathrooms and placing hall monitors by the doors, as Ms. Lake says the bathrooms are “better than last year, but students are still finding ways to hang out in the bathroom.”
Junior Nevaeh Jordan says the crowded bathrooms are just as bad as last year despite the new bathroom passes and bathroom monitors. “There’s still a crowd of people in the bathroom,” she said.
Last year, “The Paw Print” wrote “Locked Bathrooms Wrong Solution to Student Misuse” stating that the locked bathrooms are inconvenient and do not solve the issue of students skipping class. The signs are often inaccurate and students are spending even more class time searching to find an open bathroom. The article states that the bathrooms are more crowded than ever before because there are a limited amount open. It continues to question why Wilde Lake is still locking bathrooms if it’s obvious that this system doesn’t work.
The article voices opinions that many students hold, as junior Finley Tavary says that the locked bathrooms don’t work to keep students in class. “The locked bathrooms are a lazy solution that punishes everyone,” he said.
According to Ms. Platou, the end goal is for students to be successful academically, and that is only possible if students are in class.
“We just want people to be safe, academically successful, and for students to hold themselves accountable for their own time management,” Ms. Platou said.
Ms. Lake hopes the rules eventually lead students to “use the bathroom for its intended purposes and head right back to class.”
