Marblehead High School students have been using the bathroom without entryway doors for two weeks now. Student, Dimos Thanos has taken the matter into his own hands as he created 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,” said Thanos, “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.
The executive decision made to remove all entryway doors to the bathrooms throughout the school came without any explanation. Students have been left extremely uncomfortable and have been using the bathrooms significantly less according to Thanos.
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.
One local spoke on how the matter should be handled internally before being brought to the public to not 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.
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.”
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. Before the doors were fully removed they were being propped open by a doorstop but students would consistently move the stopper to close the door for privacy.
One parent of an MHS student shared 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.”
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 is why it possibly hasn’t. 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.”
Currently, the petition has over 200 signatures and is still counting. Will the petition be of any help to the student’s privacy, or will the doors remain off?
