Credit: Daniella Xue

A barricade blocks off the boys bathroom in language wing. A sign also hangs on the doorframe, closing off the bathroom.

For the past several weeks, the boys bathrooms in the language and history wings were closed due to vandalism.

According to Custodian Anthony Pilla, the bathrooms have been poorly treated for around a month and a half. Custodians have had to clean up the mess when it occurs.

“Because we clean [the bathrooms], when we come in the next day, [we notice] there’s a lot of damage in them,” Pilla said.

The Wayland High School administration doesn’t know the specifics of the cost of the damage yet.

“I was really upset because everyone deserves a clean place to take care of their business,” Assistant Principal Sean Gass said.

Along with Gass, other students have expressed their frustration about bathrooms being closed and its inconvenience.

The vandalization was brought up in advisory on Monday, Nov. 24,  to bring awareness about the problem and encourage students to stop vandalizing the bathrooms. A slideshow was shown with pictures detailing the damages caused by the vandalism.

Pilla recalls dents in the paper towel dispensers and rolls of toilet paper in the toilets. Custodians have had to replace all supplies that the students have destroyed, and the school has to pay for those damages.

“[The vandalism was] like when you do your homework, and then somebody tears it up in front of you, and then you gotta redo it,” Pilla said

Some WHS staff are hopeful that vandalism won’t occur again after the discussions in advisories.

“It is really disappointing when we can’t rely on other folks in our community to make sure that that space is clean and safe,” Gass said.

When having a class in the language and history wings, some students who identify as male have had to walk further to use the bathroom.

“It’s annoying because I have to walk all the way downstairs,” freshman Mark Chepurko said.

The closure of some bathrooms is an inconvenience for some students and also teachers because it takes away from students’ learning, taking unnecessary extra time to use the bathroom.

The bathrooms that are available are located in the math and english wings, and students who have a language or history class need to travel to those bathrooms.

“[I have] to walk across to high school to just go to the bathroom, so it kind of sucks,” sophomore Shiva Kollurim said.