You raise your hand in class to use the bathroom then the teacher neglects your request in order to continue their lesson. You cross your legs as tight as possible until you are finally given permission to leave the class. You are told you can go but then have to wait an extra few minutes to get your name misspelled and receive your pass. 

You rush to the bathroom only to discover that it is locked, forcing you to hurry to the downstairs bathroom. You push through hoards of people in order to maneuver your way to the bathroom stall. It feels like an impossible task while trying to avoid being in the background of a tiktok, inhaling smoke, or being in the middle of a fight. 

You repeatedly knock on the stalls to find one that isn’t occupied or backed up. However, as you finally find an open stall, staff is telling you to leave because of all the commotion.  

With limited access to one restroom and bathroom monitors watching as students are coming and going; it feels like trying to use the bathroom at UACHS is a hassle.  

In order to stop the students who congregate and may not be doing what is intended in the bathrooms the school has taken extreme measures, but how is this helping the students that are not playing a part to face the consequence? 

This new policy allows students to have the opportunity to use the bathroom, but does not  really affect the students who caused the changes to occur in the first place. 

The bathroom issue is one that goes beyond just the student who needs to go. The teachers in our classrooms have become reluctant to allow students to go because of time and possible chance of being caught up in something unintended. 

What if any solution would make sense here? Would it be adding more monitors? Having a set amount of bathroom privileges set up per student? Or could it be something as simple as not locking up bathrooms at all and allowing students to have a free for all? 

There is no simple solution to the bathroom problem. However, one thing is for sure the people that are causing those of us that need to go to the bathroom to suffer need to find another place to hang out.