Last week, the Heritage student body got their first glance at the brand new single stall restrooms that’s construction hindered our upper 600 hallway walking experience for the first half of the year. Now, we can see exactly why; they are incredibly modernized compared to our usual all gender restrooms. Just in the last 24 hours I’ve heard quite a few confounding opinions about these restrooms–let’s dive into the pros and cons of the new addition.
First, what I find to be the most obtuse of factors; the placement. They are right out in the open for everyone to see, which in theory wouldn’t be too bad if there was less hall traffic–but what about those who are using the bathroom in between classes? That is the most populated hallway in our school (aside from the main hall)–it seems a bit uncomfortable to be walking into the bathroom when everyone can see you. Similar to the previous issue; the sink. There is a single slab of marble placed in the center of the bathroom–but since it has an open floor plan, this sink can be seen from all sides of the hallway. Meaning those washing their hands are in full view of everyone and everything around them…awkward!
With all that, here are some handy pros that could help overturn the stated cons.
Firstly, these provide a privacy that many students miss with the stalls. Perhaps the privacy of a single stall restroom will make up for the lack of privacy washing our hands! Second, these stalls give us safety measures of numerous accounts–for example, there are now vape detectors on the doors as well as motion sensors. These additions are an attempt to keep students safe from overdoses, as fentanyl has been on the rise in many areas of the country, including Loudoun County. Lastly, these restrooms are gender inclusive, meaning the transgender students at our school have more access to restrooms without hindering their own, or their peers experiences. Transgender use of public restrooms has been a socio-political topic for years, and due to the lack in availability of All Gender Restrooms, these students are forced to either use the restrooms of their assigned sex at birth, or the bathrooms of their gender. Now that we have these single stall restrooms, there will be less discourse on that topic–and every student can be comfortable and safe while in the restroom. There are also emergency systems in place to sense whether there is more than one person in the room,
What are your opinions on the new restroom? Are the pros enough to outweigh the cons, or are these restrooms just too awkward? We will find out ourselves when these strange additions are now open for anyone to use.
