LANCERS have noticed the various gates locking down the bathrooms. Sluffing, also known as skipping, has become a big issue at Granger. Commons and other bathrooms will be closed throughout the school day.

One reason the bathrooms are shut down during the school day is because of vaping.

“Vaping is a major issue, but it’s not the only reason the bathrooms are being so heavily monitored,” Mr. Bates, a vice principal, said.

Whispers of worry fill the halls as students question where to go to use the bathroom during the school day.

“If the commons bathroom is locked, people in E-hall might have to go farther just to use the bathroom. It’s a waste of class time,” Ava Eugarrio (12) said.

Students with menstrual cycles worry about where to go when they need to change out a pad or tampon. “What about all the female students who need the bathroom because of their cycles?” Nelly Barrera (10) said. Other students worry about getting sick or having an emergency and not being able to use the closest restroom.

A main reason for regulating bathroom use during school is that students are simply hanging out there.

However, bad behavior is not the only reason why the bathrooms are closed.

Sometimes the bathrooms are closed to stay clean. “The gates were also put up to help make custodians’ lives easier when cleaning the bathrooms,” Hall monitor Ethan Lopez said. At times, custodians struggle to clean the bathrooms because students ignore signs and walk in to use the restroom while it’s being cleaned. The custodians then must leave and return to what they were doing later, often making cleaning more difficult and time-consuming. With the new gates being put up, they will have an easier time with cleaning and making Granger a more sanitary place.

The administration is concerned about sneaking in after school and doing illegal activities like vaping, smoking, or even just loitering at school, hanging out in the bathrooms.

“All we want to do is make the school safer for all of our students.” Mr. Bates said.

Despite controversial talk, the gates are here to stay for the time being. Things may change in the future, but despite the inconvenience, there will always be at least one bathroom open to the students at Granger.

It sounds like more changes to the school will be coming soon.