Inappropriate student behavior leads to bathroom closings

The Conant bathrooms have had a rough time this semester. From “devious licks” to the plumbing issues, several bathrooms have been shut down over the past few months. These include the bathroom by door 25, the social studies hallway bathroom, and the English hallway bathroom.

Students throughout the school have been frustrated with the unexpected closings. “I often find myself speed walking from class to class with the minute bell echoing through my ears as I have to check multiple bathrooms to find a suitable location,” Tyler Marrazzo, ’23, said.

Ash Chang

Even after school, students walk around the school looking for bathrooms. “After school, a few times when I had to use the bathroom, they were closed, which was annoying as I would have to go around to building to try and find one that’s open,” Karan Kashyap, ’23, said.  

Some students have expressed uncertainty about why the bathrooms were closed so frequently. In addition to the “devious licks” TikTok trend that led to school property being damaged and stolen, many bathrooms experienced plumbing problems as a result of foreign objects being put into the pipes. 

Assistant Principal Jeannette Ardell said, “My hope is that students understand that throwing shirts, masks, towels, vapes, or even underwear [in the toilet] is expensive and burdensome for the school and custodial staff. It creates a safety concern.”

The effects of the clogging in the pipes have been a nuisance to staff and school, even leading to water leaks. “Outside plumbers and District 211 plumbers have worked on the issue. We had [dirty] water flood into the basement. Hopefully students can appreciate our custodial staff,” Ardell said.

In general, these issues were caused by a handful of students, which has affected many students. “Everyone in the community has a responsibility to make sure things like this don’t happen,” Ardell said.

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