I don’t think there’s ever been a time where I’ve had to use the bathroom at Bowie and something wasn’t wrong with it.

Granted, I don’t use the bathrooms here all that much. I really just try to avoid them altogether. Maybe I’ve just gotten unlucky during the few times I actually did have to use one. I’ve seen everything from doors that look like they had been blown off their hinges to toilet seats not even being attached to the toilet.

If you’ve ever been inside one of Bowie’s bathrooms, you will definitely agree that they are in a bad state right now. Both the cleanliness and basic functionality of the bathrooms need redesigning, because both of these issues are currently driving students away from their basic needs.

The first thing you’ll notice when entering a Bowie bathroom is the intense stench of it all. I can’t speak for the girl’s bathroom, but stepping foot inside the boy’s bathroom feels like the equivalent of diving headfirst into a freshly filled dumpster outside the back of a slaughterhouse. Your nose is immediately bombarded with an aroma of mold, nicotine, and some month-old urine. If you can make it past the smell and into one of the stalls, you may take notice of the yellow-stained toilet seats that always seem to be covered in some unknown liquid.

There’s no way that these bathrooms can be up to the AISD hygiene code, right? I mean, I feel like I’m going to catch some skin infection or rare airborne disease if I stay in one of them for longer than 15 minutes

Even the basic functionality of these bathrooms is poor. The paper towel dispensers always seem to be broken and pushing the button on the faucet makes the water run for what feels like a maximum of 2 seconds.

As I said before, I haven’t used the school bathrooms very much. It’s been maybe a total of 10 times from when I started my freshman year to the end of my senior. That’s mostly because I try to avoid the Bowie bathrooms. In my case, the unsanitary nature of them is causing me to ignore my basic bodily functions, because I’ll actively hold it all in until I get home before relieving myself. I imagine it’s hard for those who have stomach or gastrointestinal issues and are forced to have to use them every day.

Bowie’s bathrooms are in a bad state right now. For the sake of all students and staff at Bowie, I think they need some significant renovations. Maybe air conditioning during the summer so they’re not swelteringly hot and some new toilet seats would be a good start. Then, it could be worked towards alleviating the horrible stench and hygiene bathroom users are forced to deal with on a daily basis. This would all work towards the well-being of everyone on campus.