In an effort to learn more about the issue of bathroom closures, we conducted an interview with Ms. Khaikin. Only one boys washroom was open on that day.
We began the interview by discussing the state of the school bathrooms. Ms. Khaikin tells us that the bathrooms most affected by closures were the gender neutral bathroom and the boys bathrooms. In particular, the gender neutral bathroom, beside the main office, has been closed since the first semester last year. According to Ms. Khaikin, the student gender neutral washroom was opened in 2019, but closed due to multiple incidents of vandalism. She tells us that she personally knows students who need to use the bathroom: “…They now avoid using the bathroom at school.”
We moved on to the topic of staff conversations. Did teachers have any say in this problem? Well, not really, according to Ms. Khaikin. She tells us that the staff are well aware that closed bathrooms are a problem, and the issue has been brought up in staff meetings. However, bathroom closures are more related to the work of the school administration, and the frequent cases of vandalism make maintenance increasingly difficult.
While issues surrounding school bathrooms are not new, the extent of vandalism has ramped up in recent years. Before COVID-19, issues were rarer and of lower intensity. So, is there anything we could do? “It’s difficult to address this without addressing school culture,” Ms. Khaikin responds, “There needs to be a better culture where people have more respect and connection to the building.” She also agrees that community involvement is crucial: “When it comes to parent council, student involvement… diversity is important. This means people from different programs, different people who are invested in the school.”
Input is extremely important concerning the issue of the gender neutral bathroom, because “vandalism in this space can have a serious impact on a marginalized community.” Ms. Khaikin stresses the importance of student initiative to step in: “If nobody says anything and it’s just a matter of getting into trouble, there’s always going to be more people who think about doing this.” She also mentions an idea for students to paint art murals inside the bathrooms, to help foster a safer environment. However, we still lack a large-scale solution.
Everyone should be able to use bathrooms at school, Ms. Khaikin affirms. “But for that to happen, people must understand how to treat it respectfully.”