What’s the point of writing on bathroom stalls?
Photo Credit: Alia Griese
The views expressed on C-Building bathroom stalls are not condoned by FHS InFlight and don't necessarily reflect our opinion on anybody's looks.
December 28, 2011 • Anthony Kuo and Shreya Arora, Staff Reporter and Features Editor
Filed under Opinions, Top Stories
High school is characterized by rebellion, but is it more detrimental than beneficial to students? Vandalism in the restrooms has been increasing at Foothill High School, and has been causing problems not only for faculty, but also for students as well. Campus supervisor Bud Mayes, attributes this problem to students’ “overdeveloped sense of entitlement.” Perhaps he’s right.
Recently, Foothill has been experiencing a couple different types of vandalism. According to Head Custodian Richard Leal, boys do “lots of tagging.” Tagging is a way for males to sign their names or represent themselves in public places, using “different names.” But, come on boys, we all know the Joker from Batman was once a cool role model, but even he did not vandalize; his “mark” was simply a card.
During trips to the bathrooms, I have also seen bad words and pictures of body parts scrawled into the walls of the bathroom stalls as well. I fail to understand how defacing school property with inappropriate drawings and pictures is fun. If anything, it should embarrass the perpetrators.It’s “just dumb stuff,” explains Leal, “boys get bored.” Vandalism is a selfish way of expressing boredom. Nobody gave students the right or permission to deface school property. At the pleasure of one human being, the whole student body suffers.
“Girls write things about other people,” says Leal. Gossiping and conservations on who’s hot and not are written on the stalls. Though there may be the occasional inspirational quote to balance out the negativity, the majority is frivolous expression and perpetuation of the forever changing ways of high school we call the social ladder.So the real question is: who is this graffiti really hurting? It “mostly impacts you guys,” says Leal. When reflecting on vandalism, most students don’t realize that it’s an adversity to them as well as the custodial staff. Students are affected the most because bathroom closures are inconvenient and force students to walk further in order to use one. Imagine being in class in the D building and having to go all the way to the bathrooms near the office because a classmate has decided to illegally express himself on school property.
In addition, the messages that are left by perpetrators can be hurtful and emotionally disruptive to other students. There have been numerous racial and sexual remarks that just aren’t okay for a high school environment.
Finally, vandalism in the bathrooms is costly and destructive to our school. Leal said that up to three hundred dollars is spent a week “depending on which bathroom they [students] hit.” Custodians spend hours just to get a few tags off the bathroom stalls. According to Bud, custodians spend half an hour removing one defacing on the walls or tiles and even longer, an hour, just to remove one act of vandalism from a stall partition. Imagine what could be used during this time. The custodial staff have other jobs to do. Having them spend more time on clearing vandalism takes away from the time they need to keep the school clean. Combine the increased work load with the recent staff cuts and we get a school that is not as clean as it can be.
Students who vandalize are just not courageous enough to speak their minds aloud and put their names behind their words. If those who vandalize feel they want to change society, start by appreciating the school and its facilities. Only when we recognize the school’s efforts can we realize that the huge “revolutions” students try to spark can be expressed differently. And for those who are merely bored and have nothing else to do, read a book.
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