Of all the places that exemplify Novato High as a polished place for education, the boys bathroom located between the 2400 and 2600 buildings is not one of them. It is often a place of unbelievable squalor, while also a place for strange camaraderie amongst the muck.

“It’s pretty disgusting,” said Novato High sophomore Ireland Cannan.

Cannan, along with other young Novato High boys, are disgusted with the state of the boys bathroom.

“Horrible, very dirty, but it’s always open,” said sophomore Seena Gholami. “There’s no privacy.” 

Gholami commented heavily on the fact that privacy is impossible to achieve in the bathroom. Part of the reason is the fact that the urinals are close together and do not have dividers. The other issue is the open door policy. Both contribute to exposed nature of the bathroom, making it all the more uncomfortable to be in. Some have seen near horrific sights.

“I found a rat in the boys locker room once, dead in the pee,” Gholami said. 

Boys’ bathrooms have attracted the strangest assortment of unsavory items throughout the years. Not only have there been dead rats in the toilets, but also juul pods, rotten pumpkins, 2x4s, and even ham and cheese sandwiches. 

However, some students believe the conditions have improved over the years. Junior Brendan Grimshaw reminisced about his freshman year experience in the bathroom. 

“Like somebody just dropped a fat duke in there and didn’t even try to get it down,” said Grimshaw, remembering a disgusting scene.

Grimshaw has seen quite a few rugged scenes in his three years in and out of the boys’ bathroom. Yet he understands the unimaginable filth to be part of life as a young man.

“In my opinion, it’s just part of the experience of being a male…the bathroom is always going to be not very clean,” said Grimshaw.

The male experience of using bathrooms has always been an appalling yet expected experience. One rarely expects to find a male bathroom clean or tidy; the hope is simply that there’s soap half the time. Of course, the abhorrent conditions could be better, but that really falls on the many students to treat the bathroom respectfully.

“I think each person who uses that bathroom has a responsibility to keep it clean and be respectful of the utilities inside,” junior Nico Herrera said.

There is no reason to treat the bathroom disrespectfully or to purposely create a foul area for others. As men, we should all try to treat our bathrooms with more respect and decency for our fellow man. On the upside, according to Grimshaw, we just might be getting better as a whole.

“I think people’s aim has just gotten better in general,” Grimshaw said.

Less urine on the seats and floor is always something we strive for at Novato High. In the meantime, just wash your hands and hold your breath.