School bathroom gets a makeover

A photo of the brand new stalls and flooring in the bathrooms (Photo: Jasmine Arroyo, The Puma Prensa)

By Jasmine Arroyo, buisness manager

The school bathroom is probably one of the most versatile spaces on campus. Apart from their pretty obvious function of being a bathroom, they are also escapes from long lectures, places to chat with friends, and a safe haven away from admin. More importantly, they have become a part of the school's culture. Students have branded them through constant attempts of vandalism, regularly unsanitary conditions, and throwing weird things in the toilets, so when the F building bathroom got an upgrade, students noticed.

The old bathroom sinks, tile, and stalls. The same features on the new bathrooms (Photo: Jasmine Arroyo, The Puma Prensa)

Prior to the 2023-24 school year, both the H and F building bathrooms were built of blue tile, metal toilet bowls, outdated hand dryers, and gray stalls. They were not flashy nor glamorous, but they got the job done. Attempting to decorate, students would carve words into the doors, put trash into the sink, and litter the floor with toilet paper. But despite how gross these conditions were, the student population grew to accept them and kept “improving” them. Standards were certainly low at the school year’s conclusion. 

The new bathrooms: sink with floor peddles, hand drier, and new walls and flooring (Photo: Jasmine Arroyo, The Puma Prensa)

I can say that I was caught off guard when entering the F building bathrooms in August. A floor to ceiling  gray speckled finish replaced the blue tile, black textured stalls replaced the flat gray ones, high powered metal hand dryers replaced the janky old ones, the old metal sinks were replaced by slightly updated ones with built-in soap dispensers and two working faucets. And wall-mounted soap dispensers replaced the built-in ones that were always empty. 

Within the first couple of weeks of school, I saw dozens of students struggle to navigate their new bathroom environment. The new dispenser seemed to hide from students who looked helplessly for it. Even more confusing were the foot pedals on the floor that turn on the water. Most people needed them pointed out before they could find them. These new features might have aided in the start of the year confusion, but are ultimately adaptations that Carrillo students picked up within a couple days. 

Apart from the bathroom’s change in appearance, senior Leanna Baltando noticed another advantage to these upgrades. Whereas the old sinks functioned with a button that would automatically spray water in intervals of around 10 seconds, the new sinks “don't waste as much water because the second you turn it off it stops.” The foot pedal also allows for a slightly more sanitary, hands free experience. 

Senior Kaylin Shin also gave props to the new stalls. “There's no gaps between the doors, which was really awkward with the old ones.” 

There were no mirrors in the beginning of the year which seemed like the main concern for both male and female students, but now there is a mid length mirror where the old one used to be. 

These renovations certainly surprised returning students. My hope is this revamping will urge students to maintain their new and clean conditions for the sake of their peers, as well as our hard working and much appreciated custodial staff. While destroying the bathrooms was a part of our school culture last year, I hope that we can change for the better and come to appreciate our new bathrooms.