Vandalism here at RHS covers the whole spectrum–whether its friendly messages in the bathroom stalls or destructive weekend vandalism. Thanks to the ever-vigilant janitors, petty vandalism is constantly being erased and redrawn, often taking on a life of its own. The girls restrooms in particular hold a plethora of interesting messages.

A few of the messages–now removed from the stalls–are uplifting. They include sentences like “You’re beautiful” and “Please don’t kill yourself.”

The latter was likely a response to a paragraph written in the same stall last year–a deeply personal message about the writer wanting to kill herself. For some, a stall door is the perfect canvas for emotion. It’s anonymous, yet public.

Not all have such a serious tone, however. Others hold comedic value. One says “Why take life so seriously? It’s not like you’re getting out alive,” and another reads “I hate irony and vandalism and lists,” written in a bullet-point list.

Still more are artistic. Last year, a drawing of a mermaid was drawn on a stall door. Whether it is a simple drawing or an outpouring of emotion, vandalism will inevitably live on in the bathroom stalls of RHS, despite the hardest efforts of janitors.