OPINION
Valerie Carrillo
Crimson Chronicle Reporter
Doctors and health care groups advised that if you need to use the restroom, you should go ahead and do so. Whether you’re at work or school, you should have the right to use the restroom; otherwise, your health may be jeopardized.
Students at Hollywood High School have been debating whether to use the restroom or not, not because their teachers won’t let them, but because they chose to waste valuable school time smoking or ditching in the stalls.
“It’s annoying because the same girls always sit in the restroom stall, as if they have the right to be there as if no one else needs to use the restroom,” said Crystal Abarca, an SAS senior.
Many students simply want to use the restroom but are unable to do so due to a large number of students who believe they can ditch and do as they please, which they should not, and for which they should be held accountable. However, we cannot solely blame the students; LAUSD staff should be more vigilant with their students and more responsible with what occurs in their schools.
“Last time, I was already out of breath from coming up the stairs, and on top of wearing the mask, I felt light headed; at the same time, I really needed to use the restroom, and when I opened the restroom door, all the stalls were taken, even the handicapped restroom; it was so foggy and it smelled so bad because all the girls were in their smoking again,” said Julia Arcos, an SAS senior.
It’s not just the girls that also feel irritated with what goes on in the restrooms, they boys also go through something similar. “Every time I go to the restroom, there’s always someone smoking, their eyes are red, but at least they don’t take up the stalls and sit on the restroom floor like the girls do in their restroom, but the smell of the vapes irritates me,” said Raul Lopez, an NMA student.
Many girls go to the SAS building to sit on the restroom floor (the handicapped restroom), but the smoke alarms have been going off like crazy lately, and many girls go to the TCA facilities and sit on the floor during class time to ditch or even for nutrition and lunch time. There’s also a liberal arts restroom where several girls got to have a “smoke sesh.”
These kids have numerous options to select from; wherever you go, there will always be someone in the restroom smoking or ditching, and most of the time doing both. The library restrooms are the only ones that aren’t being used for smoking or ditching, but they’ve been kept closed for some reason.
It’s unfortunate because teenage girls have a menstrual flow, so needing to use the restroom is a priority that should be taken seriously, but it’s unsettling because so many girls are taking advantage of it. While staff cannot monitor students using the restroom, they can be more vigilant about who enters and exits the stalls.