With the start of a new school year, it’s great to see that the school administration has finally begun to make some sorely-needed changes, like replacing the school cafeteria; and some arguably beneficial ones, like the new Wellness Center. Let's hope it keeps going this way, because we still have an issue that is only now being addressed: student bathrooms.

For those who aren’t students, it’s hard to imagine how darkly hilarious the condition of student restrooms have been for the last five years. Nothing countered flashy images of modern couches in school hallways better than several boys’ restrooms not having dividers between urinals, forcing students to awkwardly face away from each other as they try to go on about their business. Nothing screams we’re on the edge of excellence like the fact that toilets in many restrooms don’t work properly, which is unhygienic, to say the least. As hard as it is to believe, school bathrooms have become such a joke that students doing their business in a plastic bottle in one men’s restroom became a minor gag. 

That, however, is all scheduled to change. The school is currently renovating the bathrooms across the building this school year, which is commendable. This will be rolled out in two phases. All of the restrooms on the first floor will be renovated (starting with those in the auditorium and locker rooms) during the first semester, while the high school restrooms will receive their renovations at the end of the school year. Even if this change is a few years overdue, it still is great to see that improvements are finally being implemented.

Restroom doors and walls don’t just fall by themselves. While only a minority of students have caused these issues, one point that must be mentioned is no seamos cochinos y respetemos lo que compartimos como comunidad. We all share the facilities of the school, and students shouldn’t suffer because of the bad judgments of others. At the end of the day, it’s only the 1000+ students in the building that get harmed, no big deal for the reckless minority. 

Maybe these changes have only begun now because we students apparently didn’t care enough to tell teachers and administration members the state bathrooms were in. The majority of them don’t use those bathrooms, so there was no way for the school to know there was a problem unless we did anything to let them know about it. This, of course, completely excuses the school from appearing to think that not fixing the bathrooms for five years is an acceptable consequence for the ill behavior of a few students. 

It isn’t that hard to keep an image and make things work behind the scenes, all the school has to do is ask students and teachers about feedback and care about it. While clean and functional bathrooms aren’t as likely to be a stop in a school tour as an indoor playground marketed as a “Sensory Motor Gym”, they’re something essential to students. It might be too cynical on my behalf, but it seems like the school prioritizes PR material over some of its other responsibilities. Nonetheless, both students and the administrationshould play their part in order to keep the school running properly.