New bathroom pass policy targets students who ‘overuse’ restroom

By Salvador G. 

According to administrators and teachers, for the past months some students have taken advantage of the hall pass by going outside and wandering around campus, wasting time and missing important lessons inside the classroom. This has led to a new bathroom pass policy in which some students are not allowed to use the restroom during class.

According to CATS principal Mr. Gosselin, “The students who use the bathroom are overusing it during class.” 

He said that some of the problems are that teachers are having disruptions in their class and that some students have caused a lot of damage in the restrooms, meaning that there is tagging, graffiti, and paper everywhere. And that is why some of the students are on the no-pass list.

Mr. Gosselin said, “I’m open to any suggestion but so far nobody has come in and offered me a solution.”

The administration’s solution so far has been to put certain students in a blacklist where they are not allowed to go to the restroom and this has reduced the number of people outside.

The no-pass list is only for the people who are always outside of class, so if they’re asking every period to go to the restroom they are aware that they can’t go outside.

However, there could also be a solution from teachers’ opinions. For example, Ms. Dorantes, Spanish teacher, said, “We´ve been talking a lot about the behavior issues we have in class.” She believes that it’s a good idea to reduce class sizes and also minimize the time students go out into the hallways during the passing period.

She explained that adding a list of kids who can access the restroom is a good idea. She said, “I think it also helps us make sure that those same kids are in class and even that within our room and doing something.”

She shared that students on the list are mad and that they’re surprised because they didn’t see this coming.  She said, “They feel like they’re being deprived of a right, which is arguably true,” but she said that if students are not using the restroom correctly, then they are at risk of losing that privilege.

One of the people who has been impacted the most is Brenda, one of the custodians at CATS. She said that it adds more work to her already busy schedule, which causes her more stress.

She said, “Those of us who work in the afternoon have an established schedule, already have a schedule of what we have to do that day.”

She explained that the day some students broke a pipe, it meant that she had to work extra. She said, “We have to ask the boss, ‘if I do this will you pay me overtime? or do you want me to stop cleaning a room or a hallway?’“

She also mentioned that this year there have been many problems in the boys’ bathroom. She said, “My job is to report what is happening, because I have 3 bosses, and I have to report to the principal.”