It’s been weeks since the new bathroom policy has been enforced in Cresskill High School, giving plenty of time for people to form strong opinions.
This whole saga started with one fateful day when the boys bathroom was destroyed in a deplorable act of vandalism. The toilets were clogged, garbage was thrown everywhere, and a stall door was even ripped off the hinges. This led to an immediate crackdown on the student’s bathroom usage and the implementation of scanners outside of each bathroom to monitor exactly when each student goes to the bathroom.
Administrators claim it’s to prevent future defacement of school property, but many students see it as an unfair violation of their privacy, and cite ongoing issues that remain unresolved. Lara Mohl, a 10th grader at Cresskill High School, falls into the latter category.
“I think this policy is ridiculous. We shouldn’t be controlled when we go to the bathroom,” she explained when asked what her thoughts were on the policy, “I don’t think this is helpful one bit.” She further argues it is harming students, making them anxious to ask to leave class and go to the bathroom.
Her main source of anger, however, is the fact that most students did nothing wrong to garner this supervision. The main offense was committed by a few boys, but the girls and hundreds of innocent students are still being punished for it. Instead of disciplining the entire school for a few reckless mistakes, the administration should identify the students who are responsible for trashing the boys bathroom and hold them accountable for their own actions.
Teachers on the other hand have a different perspective on this issue. Signorina Zoino, the Italian teacher for middle and high school classes, believes the new rules have improved her classrooms. Before the changes, “I had my own policy, one student at a time and they have to sign out on a whiteboard right by the door with the time they leave and when they get back.” While this system worked for her classes, it wasn’t standardized and therefore was difficult to enforce consistently.
Now we have a new system that is widely implemented and strictly enforced, and, despite other complaints, it puts less strain on the teachers to come up with and follow their own rules. It also helps the custodians, as less people going to the bathroom leads to fewer messes they have to clean up.
Personally, I am reminded of the phone ban and the original outrage of the students, then the gradual acceptance. The policy isn’t going away anytime soon and we might as well make the best of it, but adjustments are necessary to make sure students and teachers remain comfortable. Finding the perfect balance between respecting the student’s privacy and remaining vigilant to prevent more incidents may be difficult, but is necessary for making these rules a permanent part of the school system. And, just like the phone ban, it could lead to unexpected benefits for both students and staff.
