Closure of I-Bathrooms: The what, where, when and why?

Since the beginning of the school year, multiple Samo bathrooms, primarily those in the Innovation building, have been closed to the student body for extended periods of time. School administrators cite vandalism and vaping as some of the main reasons behind the bathroom closures.

A-House Principal Jane Han explained some of the reasons behind the bathroom closures.

“There are a couple of different things happening. One, about two months ago, some vandalism occurred in the [Innovation] second [floor] boys' bathroom, where some of the sinks and lights were taken down. And as a result, those were closed,” Han said. 

Manny Lopez / The Samohi

Second-floor Innovation boys’ bathroom door with a sign posted saying, “Use 1st Floor Bathroom”.

“We've seen this year a really high number of incidents of students caught vaping in the bathrooms and happening at all hours of the day: during class, at lunch, and in between classes,” Han said. “Because that was happening a little bit more during lunch, and because not as many staff can be posted at each bathroom on each floor, we started to lock the third-floor and second-floor girls' bathrooms.”

With the boys’ bathroom already locked due to the damage, the rest of the Innovation building bathrooms remain closed during lunch only, and then reopened after lunch. Han also noted that some of the bathrooms have been accidentally closed during the after-lunch periods.

“I also realized today that I think it's been locked by some of the staff more frequently than [during lunch], and that was not the intention. We clarified with the staff to ensure they understand that it should only be locked during lunch, and at all other times, it should be open. So you should be seeing them open more frequently, or all the time during class, except the damaged one.”

Principal Marae Cruce also added about the state of repairs on the Innovation Building bathrooms.

“Unfortunately, when it's vandalism, we are at the mercy of the repairs and the supplies needed for that repair, so we cannot say when it's going to be open. And right now, some of those supplies do take a while, and that's just the nature of the construction. We don't necessarily notify the entire staff about this, if we’re talking about certificated teaching staff, because we're assuming that it’s a temporary close.” Cruce said. 

Cruce also addressed long-term solutions to open the bathrooms.

“The first thing is repairing the vandalism and the harm that has been done to the space so that the bathrooms can be opened. I can't open it if it is not functioning properly. Additionally to that, we are having active monitoring in the bathrooms, meaning that we have circulation of adults who are going to supervise.”

Samo student Kaleb Spearman (’29) explained what he has observed over the past few months regarding the Innovation Building Bathrooms.

 “I barely think I've seen any of the Innovation bathrooms open. [Any student] just walks over there and checks the door, and it's just locked most of the time.” Spearman said. “It makes me annoyed because I gotta go walk farther.” 

Although this issue appears to be affecting some students, little to no explanation has been provided to the student body. Aiden Amequitza (’28) explained how no information has been given out by the school concerning the bathroom closures. 

“Most of the time when I find out, I try to go to the bathroom, and it's closed, so I have to walk really far to find another open one. It takes valuable time out of each of my classes while I'm on bathroom breaks, and the school has not explained these closures in any way, shape, or form.” Amequitza said. “In case of any emergencies or anything similar, they should be open. Students need to use the bathroom, and we should be able to.” 

Another group affected by this lack of communication as to why the Innovation bathrooms are closed has been teachers at Samo. Jessica Gutierrez, a science teacher on the 2nd floor of the Innovation building, voiced concern and frustration about the bathroom closures. 

“I wish I knew, because it's a little frustrating as a teacher when students ask to leave class, and then there's nowhere for them to go to the bathroom. But it seems like from year to year, more and more bathrooms are closed, and I'm not quite sure why. I think a few of us have asked security and [Administration], but we were told nothing.” Gutierrez said. 

“But it's like a double-edged sword, right? It's closed, but then if a student leaves and they have to go to another building, they're gone even longer, so they're missing class, and they're more likely to get into some kind of trouble.” 

With repairs and other issues continuing, the timeline for reopening the boys’ second-floor Innovation bathroom is still unknown, and the rest of the Innovation bathrooms are planned to be closed during lunch and open for the rest of the day.