Following a wave of new policies at B-CC, administration has begun locking bathroom doors around the school. This policy locks most of the bathrooms on the top floors during the school day, forcing students to go down to the first floor to use the restroom. According to Vice Principal Ms. Sutton, this is intended to “cut down on spaces where students are able to loiter or miss class.” She explained that last year the administration had to frequently shut down bathrooms due to vandalism. Ms. Sutton went on to say that the main goal of this policy is to ensure students are in class as much as possible.
However, some students feel that this contradicts the hall pass policy implemented early in the year by forcing students to wander the halls to find an unlocked bathroom. B-CC junior, Anna Antinolfi, says that “It increases the amount of time I’m out of class since I have to walk across the school just to use the bathroom.” Students also brought up how the policy exacerbates loitering by making students congregate in one bathroom.
While students and administration may not see eye to eye on these new policy changes, the coming months will determine how effective they are at increasing productivity and safety at B-CC.