The North and West Hall bathrooms at LSHS seem to have constant issues, whether it’s overcrowding, long lines, or periodic closures.
“If I wanna go to the bathroom during passing period, I don’t have to go during class. I can’t make it to my class in time because I have to wait in a line of like 10 girls to go to the bathroom.” Senior Tatum Erickson said.
CTE teacher Kendra Peterson mentions how students check with her first before going to the bathroom because of the fear of being marked tardy or late.
“From what I hear from students, they are very crowded. I constantly have kids coming to class first, then asking if they can run to the bathroom because the lines are so long during passing time,” Peterson said.
Substance use seems to be a recurring issue in the bathrooms, especially in the North hall. Some other issues include flooding, closed stalls, and the gaps between stalls being too big.
Based on data collected from a survey of students, most of the feedback included complaints about the bathrooms being too small, too crowded, and not well-designed. To alleviate congestion, students would like to see more bathrooms, bigger bathrooms, limited numbers of people allowed at a time, vape detectors, and monitors regularly checking the restrooms.
As a result of these issues, students seem to struggle with getting to class on time. Based on student input, increasing passing time from 5 to 10 minutes could also be a good solution.