Editorial | Washrooms are a Necessity, Not to Mention a Human Right

Update: all of Hamber’s washrooms were reopened the next school day following print publication.

In response to the recurring acts of vandalism at Eric Hamber Secondary School, two of three boys’ washrooms have been deemed ‘out of order,’ and the remaining bathrooms now close at 3:59 PM.

Keeping washrooms in a perpetual inoperative state is a reactive, impractical long-term solution to callous vandalism that fails the proportionality test in the administration of fairness for all students. Protecting facilities at the expense those facilities use doesn’t promote a rights-based approach to access to washrooms.

Washroom vandalism isn’t an issue specific to Eric Hamber. In fact, over the course of the 2021-2022 school year, it’s been a challenge in secondary schools across both the United States and Canada.

A TikTok trend called “devious licks” encouraged high school students to vandalize and steal items from wash- rooms in their schools.

Many school districts in British Columbia, such as the Chilliwack School District and the North Vancouver School District, have seen a large rise in vandalism and theft from their wash- rooms over the past six months.

Vandalism is no doubt a costly irritation that stretches already stretched public education resources. In theory, provincial law address the issue of vandalism in schools, with section 10 of the School Act stating: “If property of a board...is destroyed, damaged, lost or converted by the intentional or negligent act of a student..., that student and that student’s parents are jointly and severally liable to the board...in respect of the act of that student.” In actuality, identifying the individuals behind washroom vandalism isn’t easy, nor is the costly legal enforcement of section 10.

The Vancouver School Board’s policy on vandalism urges “every citizen, staff member, student, and law enforcement officer to co-operate in reporting any incident of vandalism and the name(s) of the person or persons believed to be responsible. The resources of our entire community are needed to combat the problem of vandalism against public property.”

But regardless of the extent of damage caused to washrooms, access to sanitation and hygiene facilities is a basic human right. It should not be quelled due to an overzealous want to maintain order.

Keeping only one accessible and functioning washroom does not sufficiently meet that fundamental right for approximately 700 of Eric Hamber’s students.

In a February 2022 article in Phi Delta Kappan, an American profession- al magazine on K-12 education, Campbell F. Scribner, an assistant professor of education at the University of Maryland, took on the issue of washroom vandalism from a scholarly perspective.

“The fact is that children have been wreaking havoc in school bathrooms for well over 150 years,” Campbell writes, “and educators have always struggled to respond effectively.”

But despite the damages left by acts of vandalism, Cambell says that any response needs to consider the general student body’s interest in freedom and access.

“School buildings must permit young people some measure of freedom, even at the cost of some wrongdoing. Rather than succumbing to panic, valuing property over people, or subjecting students to unsparing scrutiny, schools must provide spaces for their autonomy. Strange as it may sound, bathroom maintenance is both a test and a testament of our faith in the future.”

As for the issue of identifying actual solutions, Campbell’s analysis is helpful insofar as instructing educators what not to pursue. But in the interest of offering student input, here are some suggestions on how to combat vandalism:

(1) Specifically, communicate to every student the harm caused by vandalism to schools;

(2) Engage Student Council;

(3) Encourage the implementation of the Vancouver School Board’s policy on vandalism, which states that the preservation of school property is a community responsibility that requires the cooperation of staff and students in the administration of justice; and

(4) Introduce clear, stern consesquences for vandalism.