Up until Monday, multiple bathrooms around the school were locked for at least a month. At one point, just three sets of bathrooms remained open— one in the basement, one by the lobby, and one in the hallways near the cafeteria— which made students unhappy.
To understand the motives behind the locking of these bathrooms, the RHHS Broadside interviewed Principal John Fote last week. In addition to talking about the closed bathrooms, Fote addressed his motives behind the 10-minute timeframe, in which students cannot leave the classroom.
Before explaining his rationale behind closing the bathrooms, Fote clarified by saying that his decisions are made for the greater good. He expanded by stating, “Good systems in place [move] organizations. When we have bad systems, that’s when everyone does what they want to do.”
Fote said the bathrooms were locked because of misuse. He added that many students have been “hanging out” in the bathrooms, something Fote said was “odd to [him].”
Furthermore, Fote stated that there has been vandalism in the bathrooms and he wishes to pinpoint and supervise why such things are happening.
Skipping ahead to next year, when the nine-period system is put into place again, Fote said he would urge students to use the bathrooms during passing time. He said that there will be 36 minutes throughout the day in which students can go to the bathroom and that they should use it as necessary.
In addition to talking about the closed bathrooms, Fote addressed the 10-minute rule, which students are also unhappy with. Fote said that it was implemented to prevent students from leaving classes early when the open-campus policy was still in effect.
He said he expects students to report to all classes, (including study hall— which he greatly emphasized), allow for the teacher to take attendance, and wait for class to be in order before leaving the room with a pass.
Fote said that he also wants students to get maximum instructional time and believes that ensuring students do not leave during the first and last 10 minutes of class will keep the school moving in the right direction.
When asked when things would “return to normal,” Fote stated that the school administration has weekly meetings on Mondays and assured that the reopening and supervision of the bathrooms are on his list of topics to discuss at these meetings.
When asked if he is aware of the student response to these new rules, Fote said that he had not heard anyone mention their opinions on their policies to him before, stating that he “[doesn’t] have a crystal ball,” but that he does have an open-door policy.
Fote emphasized that he wishes the student body to enlighten him on their viewpoints— he is open to hearing other people’s angles on issues and sees the importance of students’ voices being heard.
Fote said that the 10-minute rule is his favorite rule and that it will be staying.
In an interview before the bathrooms were reopened, Senior Marvin Odobashi— one of the many students unhappy with the new policies— said: “I think that the intentions are good behind these rules, but that the intentions could be [put into effect better] through other rules.”
“Closing bathrooms feels a bit overkill, because people certainly should not vandalize bathrooms. But, taking away the privilege from everyone just because of a few people [are] making bad decisions seems too far.”
“We don’t ban driving for everyone, just because there are some people who run red lights or drink and drive,” he said.