The smell of artificial fruit from a vape. Toilets clogged with paper towels, food, and even a tree branch. The foul odor of someone not cleaning up after themselves. That’s the sight people get when they walk into a recently vandalized school bathroom. Some students here at Rocklin High School (RHS) have decided to treat bathrooms as a destructive playground, wrecking fixtures or making them so disgusting that students avoid using them. Custodians, students, and faculty here at RHS are affected by this behavior on a weekly basis, and many have formed concerned opinions on the issue, from where it started to how to deal with it.
The custodians are the ones who are most affected by the bathroom vandalism. They regularly come into contact with vandalism because they clean the bathrooms for everyday use. Lead custodian Felicia Guadiana said that they have to deal with damage at least “once or twice a week, if not more ….” She talked about custodians even having to deal with foreign objects in the plumbing, such as combination locks and even “a tree branch… they pooped inside the toilet and then put the biggest tree branch inside the toilet as well.” This, however, hasn’t deterred the custodians from trying to care for the bathrooms, as they openly try their best to create a safe environment for the school. Ms. Guadiana said that it is “not embarrassing because we want you guys to have a clean and safe environment to go to the restroom … that’s our job here to make sure that you guys have that clean environment ….”
Students here also feel discouraged by the vandalism. Many have seen or heard about lots of inconsiderate conduct in the bathrooms. Junior Pawni Tawari said that they smell ”disgusting and part of it smells like weed or drugs. I have seen people smoke in the bathrooms before or there is writing on the stalls.”
“We want you guys to have a clean and safe environment to go to.”
– Lead Custodian Felicia Guadiana
Other students have noticed that vaping in the bathrooms is becoming a common occurrence. Freshman William Probus said, “Most often I see it during breaks like brunch or lunch.” Dealing with the effects of vape odors, clogged toilets, unstable sinks, and vandalism has caused many students to feel fed up with the state of the bathrooms. Probus said, “People need to take care of school bathrooms better.”
The administration has the burden of dealing with the funding side. A lot of the damage, from the removal of soap dispensers to the clogging of the toilets, costs money to fix. VIce principal Mark Douglas pointed out that when bathroom equipment has to be replaced due to shutdowns “we automatically do not have money for things that we want to do in a positive way on campus.” The administration has taken steps to lessen vandalism, even going so far as to shut down one of the bathrooms because it was too wrecked. Mr. Douglas said, “It’s just embarrassing when that is a problem on campus that we have to address … that is just something that shouldn’t happen, and we should be better than that.”
This brings up a necessary part of the conversation, how to fix the problem. Some new ideas are being considered, and new measures are being taken. Ms. Guadiana said, “If we didn’t release so many boys at once from classrooms and/or not monitor, when they’re supposed to be in class … that would help if we cut that down a little bit.” Ms. Guadiana also stated that several disciplinary techs have been working well with the custodians to keep the restrooms somewhat in order. Some drastic actions have been taken, such as both C bathrooms shutting down. Mr. Douglas said, “… we’re not allowed to have the bathroom open unless we have all of those things available in the bathroom.” There is some debate on how much monitoring should be done and at what times, however it is clear that everyone, from the administration to the students to the custodians, is fed up with the vandalism.
Full video podcast interview with Lead Custodian Felicia Guadiana below:
