Vandals overrun the bathrooms
February 15, 2019
Typically before you leave class, the instruction is, “sign out and grab a pass.” Very few people actually follow this rule; originally set in place to prevent vandalism within the walls of Oshkosh North. News of recent events reveals that vandalism is still happening in our bathrooms. More commonly occurring in the boy’s bathrooms; toilets filled to the brim, broken soap dispensers, garbage cans flipped upside down, doors off the hinges completely and garbage flooding the floors. Staff and students alike view this behavior as extremely disrespectful and destructive of public property.
As of now, the boy’s bathroom on the first floor by door 1 is closed indefinitely until further notice, along with a few others around the school. Currently, the administration has not disclosed when exactly the bathrooms will reopen or how long repairs will take. Though no one is certain who has been at the hands of the vandalism, the school does know that these events are on the rise during lunch and after school. As far as how our fellow Spartans feel about this, many teachers are disappointed that extreme vandalism is even an issue in the first place. Kiffmeyer addresses how this student behavior goes against what we believe in, “This is one of the ultimate forms of disrespect and not showing Spartan PRIDE.” Science teacher, Paula Dillon, further explains her feelings about how much North means to her and why this behavior needs to stop, “I’m really upset that this happened. This is my second home and people ruined it, I spend more time here being awake than I do at home. There’s only so much money to go around and this is going to cost a lot to fix.” Not only are students suffering because they’re losing a privilege that no one should have to lose, but the staff is too. Staff is at risk of having to give up their free time to supervise bathrooms during class periods. Staff and Students are encouraged to make sure the signout sheets are being used and enforced every time someone leaves the room; time restrictions may be added with each pass given out. Oshkosh North is intended for our education, not a playground, staff and students know that this vandalism cannot be tolerated anymore and by working together, we can get to the root cause and treat North with the respect it deserves.
