Leaving class to go to the bathroom is a basic human right, not a privilege. When we are in the comfort of our own homes or out in any public setting, the idea of being stripped of that right never crosses the mind. However, for the students at Cherokee High School, the new system of bathroom passes turns basic human needs into a conundrum of problems.
Starting in September of 2023, each teacher was given one – as opposed to two passes last year – bathroom pass, each color-coded for the hallway that the class is located in. One student can leave at a time, and students are not allowed in the hallways without one of these bathroom passes. They are also not allowed to be in hallways that do not correlate with their color-coded bathroom passes.
This new system has some major benefits. The color-coded bathroom system allows for fewer students wandering the halls, which leads to them staying in their classes longer. This system also created a safer environment in the bathrooms, because it should be harder for students to vape or otherwise misbehave.
While the system has good intentions and does have some successful components, this system creates an environment that removes the right for a student to excuse themselves when necessary. Often the class’ bathroom pass is out, and students wait for the pass to come back, or for their turn to never arrive in the lengthy lines built throughout a period. Students can often find it hard to pay attention in class when they need to use the restroom, so this will affect the student’s ability to learn and focus.
The new passes are not practical in usage. Since they are all color-coded to look the same and the line that has the teacher’s name are all in the same font, students often confuse their teacher’s pass for another teacher who works in that hallway. When a pass is misplaced they either have to take another class’s pass, not let any other student leave, or let students go with no pass; the outcome of which solely depends on the teacher.
This system makes a mountain out of a molehill. It is bad enough that almost all of the bathrooms in Cherokee are locked and unusable by students. It is completely unreasonable that students are not permitted a basic right. This system infantilizes the students of Cherokee and makes leaving to use the bathroom a much bigger issue than is necessary for high school students.
Simply, Cherokee High School needs a new system to eliminate unwanted behavior that does not strip students of the right to leave class when they need to use the restroom. The administration needs to provide each class with more than one pass and keep bathrooms open during passing time. Every student should not be punished just because some of their peers cause trouble in shared public spaces.
Instead of punishing students for their misbehaving peers, the LRHSD should be getting to the bottom of why their students can not handle the responsibility and fix it from there. This system is just a band-aid trying to fix the open wound that is our vaping and behavioral issues, which needs to be addressed early on. This problem is only going to get worse from here, and stopping students from using the restroom will not solve anything long-term.
