Dirty Bathrooms? Not While These High Schoolers Are Around

It’s no news that high school bathrooms can get a bit unruly. Truth is: They can be pretty disgusting. But at , a group of students is working to change that scenario.

“We’re taking our bathrooms back,” said sophomore Kathryn McGonagle, 15.

The students were tired of pungent smells, graffiti on walls and dirty sinks. So they took it upon themselves to clean up the place.

Now, there are flowers waiting for students. And instead of dirty words, the only writing on walls are, “This bathroom was renovated,” and “You’re beautiful.”

The students are part of the high school’s leadership group, a cohort nominated by teachers and administrators, tasked with promoting school spirit.

It took them a weekend to clean up three bathrooms at the school, two in the science hallway and one outside the cafeteria. They wanted to promote school spirit by showing their classmates the importance of caring for the facilities at the high school.

“I call it my bathroom now, because I cleaned it and I take ownership of it,” said senior Michelle McGonagle, 17. “If people see us do it, maybe they'll respect it a little bit more.”

Cleaning up wasn’t pleasant, the students said.

“It was very gross,” said senior Alexandra Cravotta-Crouch, 17. “There was dust and dirt there since ever.”

“It was a little bit overwhelming because it was really pungently disgusting,” Kathryn McGonagle continued.

But they finished it up regardless. The group cleaned up three of the nine bathrooms at the school. And they have high hopes for the future of the facilities.

“The first bathrooms are supposed to be a model, and we were hoping that other clubs and teams would adopt a bathroom and keep them up,” Michelle McGonagle said.

“We wanted to make it to students would know that we respect our school,” said senior Cherag Selhi, 18. “We're privileged enough to have a good education, so why not do something to keep our schools clean?”