(Photo courtesy Fiorella Gargiulo)

By Fiorella Gargiulo – Social Media Editor

Whether it’s painting nails, curling hair, or throwing birthday parties, female students at Jonathan Law find ways to come together during school hours. 

The only downfall? It happens in the bathroom.

This year, the girls bathroom has been a place to fight, record TikToks, eat lunch, and vape. Students commonly meet up to purposely avoid their schoolwork and discuss the latest gossip and drama.

Over the past four years, the restrooms have been an issue, but there were still multiple locations open. Slowly but surely, the bathrooms have become an abuse of power by a group of students who have taken them over. Two years ago, the E-pass system was introduced as an attempt to structure an organized online network for students to step away from class.

The E-pass system does help control how long and when students leave class, but doesn’t help the behavior that still lingers in the bathrooms. This school year,  female students have been limited to one bathroom, right near the security booth. With many attempts to end the overuse of a bathroom pass, the lavatory remains an unsafe and rowdy environment. 

Students have witnessed girls sitting on the floor, on top of stalls, and loitering towards the back of the bathroom. Most recently, girls have been extremely adamant on the lights being off, so much so that it has resulted in the light switch being ripped off the wall.

On top of all of the malicious actions, many students feel uncomfortable due to the way these “bathroom dwellers” treat girls who simply want to use the bathroom.

“When I walk in, I’m greeted with judgemental eyes and questionable fumes, and what seems like a menial task turns into something I dread everyday,” Senior Class President Layla Alogna said. “I’m in the background of TikToks that I’d rather not be featured in and overhear conversations that are none of my business.”

All of this begs the question: When will enough be enough? Girls shouldn’t dread going to the bathroom and other girls shouldn’t be residing in the bathroom like it’s their home away from home. 

If limiting the entire female population to eight stalls isn’t working, maybe it’s time to limit the girls who can’t go a class period without asking for a bathroom pass. 

Other schools in Connecticut have begun implementing vape detectors, which are able to reveal nicotine, THC, and cannabis vapor in the air. While technology like this can be expensive, or get destroyed, the device would be highly effective in alerting administrators about poor behavior that usually doesn’t get caught.

Another option is heightening the consequences already put in place, such as increased disciplinary action, students potentially losing class credit, or taking away a student’s ability to play sports or other extracurricular activities. These punishments may appear harsh, but the amount of freedom to use the restroom that has been relinquished warrants harsher penalties. 

At the end of the day, female students that need to use the restroom shouldn’t face the discomfort they currently do when they walk in. They should be able to go to the nearest restroom, free of roughhousing and the smell of vapes.

The stereotype of the girls bathroom needs to change. It’s time to take back the bathrooms from the group of students who have taken them over for too long.

The “bad smell” of the bathroom should stay in the toilet.