Locked Restrooms Annoy Students
Security practice meant to keep students safe after classes
Security guard Curtis Hughley locks the third floor men’s restroom door Feb. 6.
Custodians lock three of the high school’s 13 restrooms accessible to the student body at the end of the school day.
Though meant to preserve students’ safety, the policy creates inconveniences.
“It makes me mad, because if I gotta go, I gotta go,” said sophomore Zabrina Speights, who goes to after school conferences.
Both third floor restrooms and the men’s restroom by Room 250 are locked daily at 3 p.m.
Vic Ferrell, high school safety and security coordinator, said locking the restrooms makes the school safer.
“During dismissal there is so much going on, and so many kids in the hallway,” he said. “[Locking bathrooms] helps us to funnel kids to the restrooms downstairs, where there is more security.”
Ferrell said that in the past fights have broken out and students have been caught smoking in the restrooms. Security measures such as restroom checks and locking the doors after school have been installed to help prevent these events.
“Security guards check the restrooms twice a period,” said Ferrell. “We have cameras that cover the outside of all the restrooms. We can’t see what is going on inside but we can see who is going in and out. So if something happens, we can at least see who went in and out.”
Security staff follow a schedule for monitoring the cameras. They are almost always monitored during the day and are always monitored after school. The schedule changes depending on the amount of security staff.
Although Ferrell said the practice has been in place since he started working at the high school, which was 14 years ago, the policy’s lack of explanation has confused students.
The safety benefits of locking the restrooms remain unapparent to some students facing the practice’s constraints. “I think its rude,” said junior Miaya Goodson. “I wish they could wait until 4:30. I would be at home then.”
