Will McDonald
Staff Writer
The boys’ locker room has not been renovated in decades, but due to a school rule that prohibits changing clothing anywhere else, the locker room is the only choice that students have. However, many students elect to ignore the rule and instead change in the school bathrooms. Some actually think that the school should just abolish the rule altogether and allow kids to change in the bathrooms.
“I think kids should be allowed to change in the bathrooms because the locker room is incredibly disgusting,” said Spencer Manners ’14. “Plus, al lot of times kids may be crunched for time when trying to get to gym class on time, so the locker room is a huge inconvenience because it is so out of the way.”
In addition ton passing time, most gym teachers usually add on another five minutes. However, this still may not be enough because for some students the walk from their math class all the way to the locker room can take up to seven or eight minutes.
David Guisitch, the chair of the Physical Education department, said that although he understands why some kids would want to avoid entering the locker room due to its lack of cleanliness or its poor location, it is important for students to still change in them because it ensures that all of the students who have gym that period are where they need to be, and although it may not seem like it, is also more hygienic than a bathroom.
In addition, Guisitch said that the locker rooms are a very secure area where students can place lock up there belongings, so it is important to use them in order to ensure the safety of students possessions.
Some students, such as Jason Chaskin ’14, shared Guisitch’s belief that the locker rooms are actually an upgrade from the bathrooms.
“I don’t think students should be allowed to change in the bathrooms because we have locker rooms for that reason,” said Chaskin. “Although the locker rooms may be disgusting, the bathrooms really aren’t that much better.”
Interestingly, some students chose to avoid the locker rooms not only for changing for their gym classes, but also for changing for their after-school sport. In fact, if you are to walk into any bathroom located near the field house after school, it is likely that you will see at least one athlete getting into uniform.
Steven Sobel ’14, who was a member of the freshman soccer team, said that he thought changing in the bathroom should be permitted for school activities only. According to him, having to go all the way down to the locker room can be a severe waste of precious time before a bus leaves for a game, and when there is a bathroom located right near the bus the convenience just becomes too appealing.
The rule against changing in the bathrooms is obviously frequently ignored by students. According to Guisitch, the only consequence for being caught changing in the bathrooms is that a students gym grade may be impacted because by changing in the bathrooms they are in violation of class policy. The question for students then becomes is saving five minutes of time worth the possible slight grade drop. For many, the answer is yes.
