Over the past semester, many Boulder High students have relentlessly complained about the condition of our school’s restrooms. While many have been renovated and are kept relatively clean, the main concerns stem from the fact that a substantial portion of our school’s stalls don’t have locks. Not only is this a privacy concern, but it is a seemingly basic necessity that has been neglected by our administration. Joe Mulligan, a Boulder High senior, commented that he has noticed the absence of locks since last year, and it’s been incredibly aggravating as the stalls with functioning locks are almost always occupied. Many students, such as Boulder High senior Bryce Myers, questioned the school’s priorities, stating, “It’s sad that the school can buy hallway cameras and microphones but not stall door locks.”

We looked into the situation and found a total of nine stalls that were missing functional locks. Some looked as though they were installed incorrectly or ripped off altogether. The majority of defective stall doors were within the boys bathrooms, which is especially debilitating as they generally contain fewer stalls that the girls’.

Many students have speculated that perhaps the absence of stall door locks is a preventative measure to decrease vaping, or that the locks may provide other security concerns.

However, when these questions were turned to Boulder High’s Assistant Principal Eddie Hartnett, he seemed genuinely surprised and told us this was the first he’d been made aware of the issue. While admittedly anticlimactic, it seems the issue causing the absence of stall door locks is that students aren’t advocating for solutions to issues they find around the school. Rest assured, Mr. Hartnett informed us that he had ordered new locks and that they should be installed and functioning shortly.