MARBLEHEAD — Marblehead High School students have been using the bathroom without entryway doors for two weeks now. One student, Dimos Thanos, has taken the matter into his own hands by creating a petition to bring more attention to the issue, in hopes of having it resolved.
“I am not sure what the main goal of the door removal is,” Thanos said. “Many students believe it could be due to vaping, however, we have been left in the dark about the real reason(s) why.”
The decision to remove the doors comes from the chain of command, including the School Principal, Michele Carlson, and the Interim Superintendent, John Robidoux.
Robidoux explained there were no doors years ago, and that the original design was made to be similar to an airport-style bathroom. As seen in the photo, despite there being no door, there is a wall that blocks the entirety of the bathroom.
Thanos noticed students have been using the bathroom significantly less due to the door removal. Many of them feel uncomfortable without a full wall between the bathroom and hallway.
In the petition description, Thanos wrote, “Not only does this hamper our privacy but it unnerves many students, making them uncomfortable and causing unnecessary mental stress.”
Thanos also posted the petition to Facebook, where locals have been asking questions to deepen their understanding and providing their input on the matter sparking some debate.
One local spoke on how the matter should be handled internally before being brought to the public so that it wouldn’t hinder the school’s reputation. Thanos replied, stating that the student’s voices have been “shut down”, which is where he believes a line in the sand needs to be drawn and attention needs to be brought to the issue.
Another local addressed the comments under the petition website, stating some of them show exactly why soon-to-be adults have to be treated like children.
According to Thanos, this door removal also came without warning as rumors were spread weeks before the actual removal.
“There was skepticism at first about them being removed, but I thought they were just rumors at first because they were removed a while after the rumors started,” Thanos said. “There was no official warning or statement about them being removed.”
While Thanos stated the door removal came without any warning, Robidoux shared there was one.
“Last year it was indicated and the doors were propped open,” said Robidoux.
After some time propping open the doors with a door stop, staff noticed the students were continuously removing the stops to close the doors which has led them to remove the doors in their entirety.
In the initial effort to combat the vaping issue, the school implemented smoke detectors in the bathrooms, but to Thanos, the doors have been their main focus.
One parent of an MHS student shared that she pulled her son from the district after numerous instances of fights and drug deals occurring in the boy’s bathroom.
The parent stated, “I pulled my son from MHS this year because of the rampant cannabis use and fighting in the boy’s bathrooms. They could not keep the bathrooms free of kids using and selling vapes.”
Robidoux made a similar statement sharing that the reasons are due to vaping and fighting and consistently not using the bathroom for its intended purpose.
It seems as though the school administration has been stretched thin on how to combat these issues and removing the doors is the solution they’ve landed on.
Unsure whether or not students have brought the problem to the administration’s attention, Thanos believes some students may feel intimidated by their peers or the faculty, which may be why the issue hasn’t been addressed. Personally, Thanos feels as though the student voices aren’t heard at MHS.
“I also personally feel that our voices are not heard in our school,” Thanos said. “Before the teachers went on strike, we had a ‘march’ outside walking around the school, which was barely allowed and had strict regulations. Even those efforts felt that they did not do anything whatsoever.”
Robidoux shared that Principal Carlson held a forum Thursday at school to hear what the students have to say regarding the doors. He did not share whether or not the doors would be reinstalled.
Currently, the petition has over 350 signatures and is still counting but Robidoux stated some of the signatures don’t come from Marblehead residents or students.
Will the petition and student forum bring the doors back to the bathrooms, or will they remain off?
