Imagine this scenario: wet toilet paper hanging from the walls, a half-finished chicken sandwich in the sink and the stench of human waste radiating from the toilets.

Once you enter a stall, you can see soap containers submerged inside the dysfunctional toilets and you’re struck by a horrendous odor. Congratulations, you’ve recreated a typical boys’ restroom at Diamond Bar High School.

Although the condition may not always be as dire as described above, the boys’ restrooms are considered filthy by the entire male population at school. Despite this widely accepted consensus, action still hasn’t been taken to address these problems.

For instance, in the dubious restroom in the lower quad area, near where the lunch lines are located, students leave half-eaten food in the restroom, assuming the janitors will clean up after them.

Some stalls do not close correctly. The flushes of the urinals are often defective, leaving students to urinate in a pool of liquid. Many sinks either do not have proper water flow or are clogged up, compelling students to exit the restroom without washing their hands, an obvious sanitary sin.

On the other hand, because of the conditions of the girls’ restrooms, some students have resorted to avoiding the restrooms completely, waiting to have their potty breaks when they get home.

Because of their rancid conditions across school, the restrooms have been perceived as a laughingstock by the students. Not only have the pupils made jokes about the restrooms, but the concept has become a meme.

Despite all the jokes focused on  restroom filth, it is a real issue that needs to be addressed.

Cleaning the toilets and fixing the stalls is not a sufficient answer to these problems. Students must learn to control themselves instead of disrespecting and vandalizing school property.

While this problem does include a lack of action by school administrators, there’s no excuse for high school students to be trashing the restrooms. We are almost adults and should be mature enough to keep these public places clean, especially since those who defile the restrooms are the very ones using them.

Even without a perfect resolution in solving the restroom issue, the school administration can at least attempt to mitigate the situation. This can begin by refurbishing the interior of the restrooms and redoing the floor, making the restrooms look more tidy.

For example, the restroom near the math building, with glossy, dark tiles lining the floors, is presentable. Because the restroom is in a relatively pristine state, students are less likely to vandalize and mismanage it, compelled by the newness to maintain the cleanliness.

Students should not feel that the restrooms at school are something to avoid.  With the appropriate changes and upkeep, students will be exposed to less filth and maybe even  wash their hands before they exit the restroom. This issue needs to be a widespread concern shared by both administrators and students.

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