ACE Paragraph
Argument Essay
Justin Hickland
Mr. Phillips
AP English Fourth Period
9 October 2018
The Problem with Leesville Road High School’s Boys Bathrooms
Going to the bathroom in a public school is never a fun experience. The bathrooms are usually dirty and can smell awful. In fact, when I was in elementary school I rarely used the bathroom at school because of how nasty the experience could be. Over time, I just decided to ignore the disgusting aspects of the public school bathroom until I encountered a new problem coming into high school. Can you guess? Leesville Road High School does not have dividers between urinals in boys bathrooms. I find the lack of dividers strange and somewhat barbaric considering that most other public places have them. Suddenly, public school bathrooms had become even worse, knowing that I would now have to worry about making sure no one else sees my private area in a time of unbridled adolescent social behavior. Out of courtesy and respect for the male students, Leesville Road High School needs to install dividers between urinals in boys bathrooms for the privacy and sanitation.
Installing dividers between urinals in boys bathrooms at Leesville Road High School gives students the privacy and sanitation they deserve while using a urinal. Since the bathrooms currently don’t have dividers, boys have to try and keep private areas hidden while making sure they don’t accidentally look at other people’s private areas, making for an awkward experience. The privacy dividers would rid us of the uncomfortableness and keep the experience humane. Everyone else in the school gets privacy when using the bathroom except for boys using urinals. Privacy is provided for girls and staff through stalls and dedicated bathrooms with door locks. Why shouldn’t boys get the same dignity when performing one of the most necessary basic human functions? How much could a few dividers reasonably cost the school or better yet, the PTA? Instead of spending funds towards compassionate endeavors for boys in the student population, school funds are used on projects such as phone pouches which most students don’t even use, and teachers don’t enforce using them. The phone pouch funds could have easily paid for the dividers to preserve the privacy of Leesville Road High School’s boys when using a urinal. Dividers would also keep Leesville Road High School boys bathrooms more sanitary for the boys using the urinals. One may ask how a divider keeps the boys that use the urinals more sanitary? Dividers block any overspray and splash from boys using the urinal adjacent to one another. I shouldn’t have to worry about someone else’s urine getting on me or my sneakers. Someone else’s urine that travels onto another is definitely unsanitary and quite gross. Privacy and sanitation are important to a normal bathroom experience, and dividers between urinals can provide that for the boys using the bathroom.
Opposition to urinal dividers at Leesville Road High School has not been strongly considered due to costs and the belief that they aren’t necessary for boys using urinals. The cost of a basic divider is around seventy dollars. Currently, there are nine boys bathrooms available to students without dividers. Each bathroom would require three to four dividers in between urinals. After adding up the costs for each divider in all bathrooms, the cost is approximately $2,000. That amount may seem exorbitant to some, but compared to the $9,000 Leesville Road High School recently spent on phone pouches, the divider is merely a fraction of the cost. As already stated, the phone pouches seem ineffective among students and teachers, making the purchase a shallow waste. The $9,000 could have more effectively paid for the dividers in boys bathrooms to uphold privacy and supply basic sanitary needs. The opposition does not believe that dividers are necessary. Those who take this position argue that boys should simply ignore others when peeing in a urinal without dividers. As easy as it sounds, the opposition are typically not the ones using the urinals without dividers in school and don’t know the self-conscious situation to which the lack of dividers leads. The opposition does not have many reasons why Leesville Road High School should not have dividers which only substantiates the installation.
Leesville Road High School lacks dividers between urinals. I vehemently believe the best solution to help future generations of boys from feeling uncomfortable when using urinals is to simply buy dividers. Dividers should have been in place since school opening. Investing in dividers will bring back dignity for boys. Privacy and sanitary needs will be met. While an investment, dividers will improve the overall well-being of the school. Therefore, I implore Leesville Road High School to consider and approve dividers as not monetary, but moral investments for boys bathrooms to help support the integrity and basic right to privacy and sanitation when using the urinal.
Mr. Phillips
AP English Fourth Period
9 October 2018
The Problem with Leesville Road High School’s Boys Bathrooms
Going to the bathroom in a public school is never a fun experience. The bathrooms are usually dirty and can smell awful. In fact, when I was in elementary school I rarely used the bathroom at school because of how nasty the experience could be. Over time, I just decided to ignore the disgusting aspects of the public school bathroom until I encountered a new problem coming into high school. Can you guess? Leesville Road High School does not have dividers between urinals in boys bathrooms. I find the lack of dividers strange and somewhat barbaric considering that most other public places have them. Suddenly, public school bathrooms had become even worse, knowing that I would now have to worry about making sure no one else sees my private area in a time of unbridled adolescent social behavior. Out of courtesy and respect for the male students, Leesville Road High School needs to install dividers between urinals in boys bathrooms for the privacy and sanitation.
Installing dividers between urinals in boys bathrooms at Leesville Road High School gives students the privacy and sanitation they deserve while using a urinal. Since the bathrooms currently don’t have dividers, boys have to try and keep private areas hidden while making sure they don’t accidentally look at other people’s private areas, making for an awkward experience. The privacy dividers would rid us of the uncomfortableness and keep the experience humane. Everyone else in the school gets privacy when using the bathroom except for boys using urinals. Privacy is provided for girls and staff through stalls and dedicated bathrooms with door locks. Why shouldn’t boys get the same dignity when performing one of the most necessary basic human functions? How much could a few dividers reasonably cost the school or better yet, the PTA? Instead of spending funds towards compassionate endeavors for boys in the student population, school funds are used on projects such as phone pouches which most students don’t even use, and teachers don’t enforce using them. The phone pouch funds could have easily paid for the dividers to preserve the privacy of Leesville Road High School’s boys when using a urinal. Dividers would also keep Leesville Road High School boys bathrooms more sanitary for the boys using the urinals. One may ask how a divider keeps the boys that use the urinals more sanitary? Dividers block any overspray and splash from boys using the urinal adjacent to one another. I shouldn’t have to worry about someone else’s urine getting on me or my sneakers. Someone else’s urine that travels onto another is definitely unsanitary and quite gross. Privacy and sanitation are important to a normal bathroom experience, and dividers between urinals can provide that for the boys using the bathroom.
Opposition to urinal dividers at Leesville Road High School has not been strongly considered due to costs and the belief that they aren’t necessary for boys using urinals. The cost of a basic divider is around seventy dollars. Currently, there are nine boys bathrooms available to students without dividers. Each bathroom would require three to four dividers in between urinals. After adding up the costs for each divider in all bathrooms, the cost is approximately $2,000. That amount may seem exorbitant to some, but compared to the $9,000 Leesville Road High School recently spent on phone pouches, the divider is merely a fraction of the cost. As already stated, the phone pouches seem ineffective among students and teachers, making the purchase a shallow waste. The $9,000 could have more effectively paid for the dividers in boys bathrooms to uphold privacy and supply basic sanitary needs. The opposition does not believe that dividers are necessary. Those who take this position argue that boys should simply ignore others when peeing in a urinal without dividers. As easy as it sounds, the opposition are typically not the ones using the urinals without dividers in school and don’t know the self-conscious situation to which the lack of dividers leads. The opposition does not have many reasons why Leesville Road High School should not have dividers which only substantiates the installation.
Leesville Road High School lacks dividers between urinals. I vehemently believe the best solution to help future generations of boys from feeling uncomfortable when using urinals is to simply buy dividers. Dividers should have been in place since school opening. Investing in dividers will bring back dignity for boys. Privacy and sanitary needs will be met. While an investment, dividers will improve the overall well-being of the school. Therefore, I implore Leesville Road High School to consider and approve dividers as not monetary, but moral investments for boys bathrooms to help support the integrity and basic right to privacy and sanitation when using the urinal.