Currently, Sahuaro has designated one open bathroom for each sex.  In a school with over 1,600 students, these are simply unacceptable conditions for students. It leaves students with no options, as the only other bathrooms available are located in the cafeteria, which are only open during lunch hours.

One of the two stalls in the lone men’s bathroom is missing a door, allowing for no privacy. Additionally, because of the lack of proper facilities, students must all go to the one designated bathroom, meaning it takes longer to get to class if their class is far away and and students have to wait due to overcrowding.

As the bathrooms get used repeatedly, problems are bound to occur, causing even less access sometimes in an already super restricted scenario. We asked Sahuaro security staff member Ross Ribaudo why the school decided to close the other bathrooms for students, and he felt it was the best for the students. He exclaimed that it was a “necessary evil” due to the “bathrooms being destroyed” by the students, and with the little budget that the school has, it’s just not possible to keep putting money into repairs. With the constant vandalism happening to the bathrooms, Ross believes this is the “best strategy” for the interest of student safety and well-being.

It’s clear Sahuaro staff share this sentiment as all the bathrooms have remained restricted to one per sex since the beginning of the year. It is the duty of the school to address these issues in order to provide a smooth and hassle-free educational experience. It is unfair that students are forced to deal with these conditions and all the other bathroom facilities should be opened if possible. Yes, there is a point where you cannot sustain losses in repairs and the money would be spent better elsewhere, but the district should come up with a solution that allows the students to have the proper access to bathrooms, especially at such a big school like Sahuaro.

We looked to the student body here at Sahuaro in order to get a better grasp of the situation. Junior Eric Foiryolo readily echoed the sentiment that limiting the bathrooms only causes problems for students stating, “You have to go to the other side of the school to use the bathroom just to be late.” It’s clear this is a shared opinion by the student body that limiting the bathrooms causes more problems than solutions for students. The school must develop a solution that is beneficial and fair for the students.