Eliot Malberg, pictured above, washing his hands in a boys’ bathroom
Users of Roosevelt’s boys’ bathrooms are likely already aware of the facilities’ lack of mirrors. The only exception is located on the first floor, found in the language hallway. A question that has been burning in the minds of students at Roosevelt, and in particular, those of students who use the boys’ bathroom: what happened to the boys’ bathroom mirrors? Where did they go?
Many students are unaware of the history behind the missing mirrors. In a survey shared by The Roosevelt News (TRN) on bathroom mirrors, no one out of over 40 respondents knew the reason for the mirrors’ absence. Though the mirrors have been gone for a couple years, there’s no widely accepted answer to why they’re gone. Among Roosevelt staff, faculty have not provided an explanation, and when reached out to, often didn’t know.
TRN also shared a survey with students to gather what questions they had about these missing mirrors. Many respondents were curious as to why they were gone, and expressed a want for their replacement and maintenance.
Faculty pointed to the head custodian, Thanousack Sibounhevang, for a direct answer. Sibounhevang explained that the mirrors had been poorly treated. They were graffitied on, which included foul language, and they were repeatedly broken.
One survey respondent shared their frustration: “Its stupid, they should just add them back and if something happens again they should deal with it with the person and not every guy that uses the bathrooms.”
If the school emphasized an effort to replace and maintain these mirrors, cost and labor would have to be taken into account. Depending on size and make, bathroom mirrors can range anywhere from fifty to a couple hundred hundred dollars. The upkeep element, on the other hand, could be addressed with non-abrasive commercial cleaners or homemade remedies to remove graffiti. Hypothetically, if Roosevelt were to implement some sort of student run system, it could alleviate the cost and work load of maintenance for custodians.
The mirror’s absence not only affects the aesthetic aspect of the bathrooms, but the students who use them as well. When asked, answers from students who used the boys bathrooms ranged from the apathetic, “I don’t care,” to the opinionated, “It’s annoying,” and, “I hate it,” and the straight-forward, “Outrageous, I need to check myself out.”
Some students also commented on how the mirrors affected their days. A common response was a concern with students not being able to check their appearances, something which can lead to feelings of self-consciousness and frustration.
These feelings are already common during adolescence. According to an article on self awareness from the US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, adolescents have a “heightened state of self-awareness.” This can lead to greater feelings of self consciousness, causing kids to be much more critical of themselves in general.
One survey response reflects this sentiment: “It’s depressing to have no mirrors above the bathroom sinks, and it makes it difficult to fix my hair or check my appearance (to make sure I look alright) throughout the day.” A mirror is a basic need for a bathroom, some believed, and their absence affects the functionality of the room as a whole.
The majority of survey respondents agreed that the absence of mirrors negatively affected the bathrooms, and is unfair. Their comments went along the lines of, “I feel like it’s not fair to the people who actually want a mirror during the day.” Users of other bathrooms remarked on the unfairness as well, “That’s just wrong. Us girls still have it [mirrors] and I don’t know why there ain’t one [mirrors] for the boys.”
Other survey responses reflect on the general atmosphere, “They make it sort of a trash place,” and that it made the bathrooms feel “dingy, like a truck stop bathroom.”
After a seemingly unanimous answer against the mirror’s absence, students are frustrated, and it’s safe to say that the mirrors are missed.
