Throughout late December and early January, numerous instances of vandalism were reported in several bathrooms around the school. Administrators at the school have resorted to a variety of solutions not only to prevent vandalism, but also to restore bathrooms that were destroyed by it.
“I think people should stop with vandalism because it makes them look irresponsible and we should show respect to school and other people who need to use the bathrooms,” freshman Juliana Cowden Quinn said.
According to Triton, a security system company, vandalism in school bathrooms creates an atmosphere of disrespect and a loss of safety and security for students and employees that is detrimental to their overall well-being.
“Students deserve a safe place to use the facilities and to know that they have what they need,” assistant principal Cynthia Hawkins said.
Due to vandalism, some students were unable to use the restrooms near their classes because they had been closed. Boys were primarily impacted by closures within the student body, as the boys’ bathrooms experienced significant bathroom vandalism. Although no clear trends of intent have been determined, similar acts of vandalism have taken place on different days.
“We were not experiencing this damage or graffiti in girls bathrooms at all,” principal Dr. Amy Goodloe said. “For a while, it was more about flooding.”
Along with the school’s security cameras in the hallway and QR codes in the bathrooms, in order to identify the people involved more quickly, the administration checked various bathrooms throughout the day.
“What you all probably saw, especially in December and January, or even before that, was the admin team doing bathroom sweeps, where at random times we were checking bathrooms and moving kids along if there were groups of kids hanging out in either the girls’ or boys’ bathrooms,” Goodloe said.
On Jan. 9, Goodloe addressed the issue of graffiti and hate symbols found on school grounds on Schoology. Measures, such as reviewing surveillance footage, monitoring bathrooms and rotating closures on a periodic basis of bathrooms around the school, were adopted. Collaboration with student groups like SEALs and plans for an awareness campaign also ensued and partnerships with the Fairfax County Public Schools Equity office were initiated for student leadership lessons on identity and school culture.
Individuals who are involved in the bathroom situation could face legal consequences for vandalism, especially since repairs for the recent bathroom vandalism cost thousands of dollars.
“It ends up costing the school a lot of money,” Hawkins said. “And that’s money that we’re not able to spend on other things for our student body, such as building improvements or furniture for new spaces.”
One such consequence is making individuals pay to fix the vandalized part of the bathroom.
They could also be registered in juvenile court, since the individual would be charged with vandalism by the Fairfax County Police Department.
“Other consequences can range from limited eHall passes to the bathrooms, limited bathroom use where students might be directed to only use one bathroom or may only have limited access to eHall passes to leave the class at certain times, anything from after-school detention to in-school suspension or out-of-school suspension,” Goodloe said.
The non-stop vandalism was not linked to one student, but multiple students, with varying motives. Although there were similar examples of vandalism such as graffiti and scratching, most vandalism actions were different, which revealed that the incidents were not connected.
“Because the acts were fairly random, there were quite a few of them in a short amount of time and some of the drawings and symbols seem to be very, very different,” Goodloe said. “There didn’t seem to be a real clear pattern on what the person was seeking.”
According to Service Sanitation, quick action against bathroom vandals prevents other individuals from joining them. CHS tried to follow this approach and took action by quickly setting up the QR code for the “See Something, Say Something” form found near all bathrooms.
“As soon as the ‘See Something, Say Something’ form is submitted, every administrator at school and every security staff member gets an email,” Goodloe said. “It could be as simple as paper towels and toilet paper or it could be something like ‘hey there’s damage, there’s graffiti, there’s flooding or there’s vandalism.’”
Although vandalism diminished and the school stopped closing bathrooms, it started back again. On March 13, Dr.Goodloe posted a schoology message informing the students about the new bathroom closures.
Before and after school hours only main office bathrooms which are also known as door 1 bathrooms will be open. During class time English, Math, and main office bathrooms will be available for students. During eight minutes passing times door 2 and academy bathrooms will be added. Students will only be able to go to the activities bathroom during lunch hours, however door 2 bathroom will be open in passing times. Besides writing an eHall pass, students also may have to sign in and out to the bathrooms.
“I don’t think it is really necessary. Students should be able to use the bathroom whenever it is,” Quinn said. “I do get how it has to need extra security because vapors use the bathroom as well.”
