The communal showers and bathrooms on campus are disgusting, to put it best. There’s either a strange stain on the floor or a terrible smell coming from the ceiling. 

Students have a part in keeping their bathrooms clean for themselves and others. Just keep them clean.

There are many horror stories about poop found in the shower and showers breaking.

“When I was living there (Neptune West), we had what they call ‘the poop bandit,’” said Kathy Valdez, a junior biology major. “It was only in the boy’s bathroom, but he would usually wait until Friday or on a weekend, so when the janitors couldn’t come to clean. He would poop in the shower stalls or next to a toilet, and it would just sit there and in that males’ bathroom.”

If you decide you need to relieve yourself, make sure you at minimum use the toilet; or, if you pee on the toilet seat, wipe it off. Nobody wants to be met by an unflushed toilet or a toilet seat covered in urine, so clean up after yourself.

Students have a shared responsibility to take care of the showers and bathrooms. We should want to live in a clean space. Janitorial staff on campus feel the same way. 

“I wish that they would take more self-accountability, want to be better and want to live in a clean space,” said Tammie Pulak, superintendent of building services. “Clean spaces are more productive for studying.” 

Living in a clean environment is necessary for academic success, and it is expected that the showers and bathrooms of a university are clean. Bathroom cleanliness can also be a big concern for parents sending their kids away to college and paying for their education. 

Dorm bathrooms can hold germs and other bacteria, and damaged flooring and walls can create an unsafe living environment for students, according to Tower Industries, a shower manufacturer.

So, not only are you destroying the environment around you, you are hurting everyone else and yourself.  

There are some ways you can protect yourself from germs when using the bathroom: 

Wiping down the shower head and handle with a Clorox wipe before you hop in is a good idea, or maybe just spraying the area with a disinfectant spray. 

Also, wearing shower shoes is an absolute must. The floors of the bathrooms are covered in weird stains, wads of hair and bodily fluids.

Whenever you use the communal shower and bathrooms, look after it.