By Amanda Piril
It’s been just about two weeks since Beaverton High School students found the doors missing from the bathrooms in the cafeteria. The decision to remove the doors was made at the start of December and left students surprised at the change.
Principal Anne Erwin made an announcement during Beaver Lodge regarding the decision and later mentioned it again in the BHS Family Update she sent out to everyone. In the Family Update, it reads, “We’ve seen an increase in inappropriate behavior, litter, and vandalism in the restrooms on campus,” which lead her to have the custodians remove the doors.
Students have mixed emotions about the change to the bathrooms. Dulce Jimenez, senior, gives her opinion on the situation, “Your privacy is kinda lost but it’s also good because students shouldn’t be doing bad stuff in there and hiding when trying to skip class.” Jimenez was surprised to see the doors gone after four years of attending BHS. Nicole Caster, junior, also comments, “To be honest, I could care less because they were heavy and gross but they had privacy. Overall, I kinda forgot about them.”
What this call comes down to is that privacy seems to be the main concern for students regarding the doors. Erwin also included a statement about that in the update, “All of the restrooms have walls that obscure any view into the restroom and there are doors on individual stalls.”The one common thought with most students, when asked about the doors, is why everyone should pay when it’s only a handful of students that have been causing trouble. A male student, who wishes to remain anonymous, states, “I find it awkward to use the bathrooms in there so I just avoid using them.”
The bathroom entryways are designed to make it difficult to get a good look inside the bathrooms. (Photo by Amanda Piril).