What is the new bathroom policy at Herriman High? The new hall pass system that they added this year is an online form that has to be filled out every time a student leaves the classroom, whether you are leaving to go to the office or to the bathroom so then they know where the students are. At Herriman High School, the bathroom policy has sparked quite a bit of conversation among the students and the teachers. This policy is meant to lay out rules for who can use which bathroom, all in an effort to create a safe environment for everyone. But, like any policy, people’s reactions can be all over the place. Students and teachers have shared their thoughts on how the policy affects them and what could be improved.
It’s important to hear these voices because they highlight what matters in creating a better school experience. Many students have pretty strong opinions about the bathroom policy and some don’t really care for it. Some students feel that while it’s meant to help, it doesn’t really take into account the annoyance of having to wait for another person to come back, or having a certain amount of time before the admin comes looking for you. On the flip side, there are students who think the bathroom policy is a good thing. They believe it helps keep everyone safe and reinforces respect among students and staff. The bathroom policy enforces respect by creating a framework that prioritizes inclusivity, privacy and safety for all students. It often includes guidelines promoting respectful behavior, which helps prevent harassment and protects individuals privacy while using facilities. This group points out clear rules that can prevent misunderstandings and conflicts, creating a more orderly school environment. Still, it’s crucial for this perspective to understand the wider impact of the policy.
When asked about the bathroom policy, Ires Winberg said, “I don’t like it, it doesn’t give me a lot of freedom.” Furthermore, when interviewed another person named Elizabeth Abel said she thinks that it is pretty good and that she thinks that it keeps kids in the bathroom for a short time period and that it helps get the kids back in the class quickly so that they learn what they need to learn. Abel says, “It’s a pretty good system and it works, keeps kids in the bathroom for a short period of time and they get back to class to continue learning what they need to be learning to be a civilized human being.” When asked if she feels like it’s the best system that they can be using or if there is a better way to do it in her opinion she said, “I personally don’t like how you have to for some teachers at least have to ask and then fill out an entire pass, especially if that teacher has a designated computer and you have to sign in and out because if you have to go to the bathroom really badly that’s just going to take up more time and give you less time to get to the bathroom in time.” If she could change anything about the bathroom policy she said, “I think I would change the My Homework website so instead of a bunch of things added to it, I would just have a designated thing for just the bathroom and not anything else.”
For the other students who were interviewed, Will Van Soolen said “I don’t necessarily like them, I think that if you need to use the restroom in an emergency then you have to do all of this stuff on your computer, and it’s kind of dumb.” If he were able to change the bathroom pass system, he would prefer to ask the teacher and they can do it on their computer so then you could just go and leave to go to the bathroom. Another student interviewed was Henry Lingwall. He said that he doesn’t really like it and that he hasn’t really had the best experience, and that he feels it would be better to move back to the old one. He thinks that the system can be improved by not making it electronic. There are also some teachers that were interviewed for reference. One of the teachers interviewed, Mr Norris, thinks the bathroom policy is good and that it’s not too far off from how he used to do it before. In that system he would only allow one student out at a time for ten minutes. Furthermore, when asked if there was anything he could change about the bathroom pass system, he replied, “I don’t know anything right now. I think we are still in the trial period and we have to see what comes of it.”
Miss Ess, a math teacher, said “I like it because it makes students who don’t actually need to go to the bathroom…it’s just too much work for them to do the bathroom pass, so they just decide to stay.” If she could change anything about the system she would change the fact that you have to be super specific, and some kids don’t know hall numbers. Not all kids know where the bathrooms are or what hall they are in. Mr. Trammel, a special education and math teacher, said that he personally likes it. If he could change anything about the bathroom pass system he would add a physical hall pass that goes with it that you would carry around, like a lanyard.
Students don’t really like it and they feel like it is very unnecessary and that it was easier to just write your name on a paper, or get a lanyard to go to the bathroom. Some students expressed annoyance when the system declined their request to go to the bathroom or if they just need to leave the class. The teachers seem to like it. It is still a trial period, so we will have to see how it goes.
