Courtesy of Sophia Hosford ’26
It was a night of laundry and adding movies to my Netflix list that I would never watch. It took five minutes for relaxation to turn into repulsion as I entered the 2nd floor bathroom in Smith.
Rather than a clean bathroom I found pieces of toilet paper and hair strewn about. I guess the skunks made their way to Smith because only an animal could be responsible for such an offense. I then found puddles of dirty water. It pooled in the center of the bathroom requiring users to maneuver themselves through an obstacle course just to wash their hands, but some people don’t even bother doing that.
After nearly losing my life to the collection of hair and even more water that had accumulated in the corner of the room, I exited, happy to have my life but not happy knowing I’d return later to an even grosser setting – chicken in the sink and an overflowing wastebasket. Dinner and a shower? This was not an isolated incident. It’s disgusting, it’s common, and it’s not just Smith.
It seemed as though the same skunks in Smith made their way to Johnson – it’s entirely plausible for them to have climbed several sets of stairs. They like a challenge. Or maybe it’s the squirrels — you see them chasing each other across Tempel squaring off over territory — perhaps the competition escalates in the bathrooms. Freshman Matthew Fuentes lives on the second floor where some of the toilets don’t flush and shaved hair lines the sink and floors — decor no one asked for. Worse, in the handicap bathrooms, residents don’t flush and leave their belongings for days — I guess their faith in the honor code is unmatched.
Several weeks ago, vomit was left uncleaned on the third floor of Plant. Freshman Sabrina Malec lives there. She recalls walking into the bathroom and seeing vomit that wouldn’t end up being cleaned for hours as the residents responsible failed to clean it. It appears that students struggle with maintaining the bathrooms over the 48 hour period while someone else isn’t cleaning up their mess.
Not everyone gets to live in Hotel Morrison. Shockingly, secondary parent-pleaser, paradisiacal dorm Hamilton also struggles to maintain its bathrooms. Dirty underwear left for days, tampon disposal machines knocked off the wall, and food in the sink is how freshman Caroline Snyder described the first floor bathroom. Clearly all is not well in paradise. Two floors above, a freshman wishing to remain anonymous discovered a used tampon on the floor, a lovely Monday morning wake up call. Such a jumpscare eliminates the need for coffee.
The Larrabee basement bathroom is infamous, known for its unflushed toilets and condom ridden stalls. Sophomore Melanie Rollins is the Larrabee House Senator and also a basement resident. She described the bathrooms as “revolting, smelly, and uncomfortable.” The basement and the first floor are particularly problematic in Larrabee. “Everything above the first floor is a lot cleaner,” Rollins said. Larrabee has held several meetings about the bathrooms, involving central campus, REAL Staff, and contacting custodians. Meetings have included basic bathroom etiquette like flushing the toilet because we definitely didn’t learn that as children, and explanations that having sex in the shower isn’t very nice! The basement bathroom has become a dumping ground for used condoms, both used and unused tampons, and shaved pubic hairs. Rollins recalled both showers being rendered unusable on account of the pubic hairs in one and used condom in the other. “At least one toilet is always clogged,” she added. Larabee REAL staff are currently planning another bathroom hygiene meeting. We all must learn from KB which we now know stands for Klean Bathrooms.
The lack of bathroom etiquette is frustrating and disrespectful to all, but especially to custodians who work hard to maintain the school’s cleanliness. We are just as responsible for maintaining the space. We must respect our environments and recognize that we live in a community with guidelines. We must try to keep it clean rather than worsen the experience for everyone. Having a sense of ownership over our community shouldn’t entitle us to treat it poorly, it should instill a desire to make the living experience enjoyable for everyone.
So the next time you are about to leave the bathroom without flushing the toilet, just know that everyone will hate you! And remember, flushing everyday keeps the REAL staff at bay.
