What’s the dirtiest place on Lincoln’s campus? The restrooms.

Trying to find a safe and clean restroom on campus to use can be quite the task

Carlos Garcia, Opinions Editor

Let’s be honest. The sanitary conditions of our bathrooms here at Lincoln High School are horrendous. What is sad about this statement is that it is my fellow classmates that cause all the mess inside the bathrooms. Now, I know students don’t behave like that with their own bathrooms at home, so what changes their behavior once we step on campus? Is it because of this stupid Tik Tok challenge on social media? If so, dear fellow Trojans, please grow up! As a male, I can testify that the boys’ bathrooms are disgusting. How do high schoolers think it’s funny or entertaining to clog the urinals with paper towels, or jam the toilets with plastic water bottles? I know the janitors don’t have a fun time cleaning the bathrooms at Lincoln.

I have talked to plenty of female students as well about the sanitary conditions of how their bathrooms look and smell. When they described what their bathroom looked like, I was shocked. “Seat covers are on the floor, and the floor is always wet,” stated one of the female students. They also complained about how the mirrors are foggy and dirty. Most of the young ladies wanted there to be new mirrors installed and wanted the trash bins to be cleaned out during the day. The girls’ bathrooms are as dirty as the boys’ bathrooms. It is shocking to me that the girls’ bathroom is dirty at all. I would expect the ladies restrooms to be a lot cleaner than boys.

Now, my very own eyes have seen some wacky stuff inside the boys’ bathrooms. One time, I walked in the bathroom and there was a chocolate milk carton stuck in the urinal, and a chicken sandwich stuffed in the toilet. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I am pretty sure that food is meant to be eaten. Our cafeteria food is not supposed to be put in urinals and toilets. We don’t have clean bathrooms because of the janitors not working.

We have filthy restrooms because of the students. The boys’ bathrooms are always wet, and I don’t know if it’s water or urine. There are too many boys on campus that think this behavior is funny. In my opinion, it’s disgusting.

There are many solutions to having a cleaner bathroom, but let’s start with having common sense and proper manners when it comes to using the bathroom. We would have cleaner restrooms to use, if the students of Lincoln High used proper bathroom manners. Currently, that is not the case. Another problem-solver would be the installation of electric hand dryers. This is great for the environment, and it takes away all the paper towels that clog the toilets, urinals, and sinks. That way there won’t be any paper towels up on the ceiling or clogging the sink. I would like to see the janitors check the bathrooms more often. If supplies run out, they can come in and restock and keep the bathrooms clean throughout the day.

If Lincoln High School can manage to get the bathroom situation under control, then it will be one less thing to worry about. In 2021, people are conscience about staying healthy and not catching COVID-19. My fellow Trojans need to immediately work on their maturity and grow up! We (the teenagers) are the cause of this daily filth and quite frankly our behavior needs to change. We should be embarrassed that we treat one another in this manner each day.