A pupil at an east Ottawa highschool says officers have been too sluggish to reply to considerations about doorways lacking from some boys’ toilet stalls, elevating privateness considerations among the many pupil physique.
“I need the varsity to be held accountable for it,” mentioned the Grade 12 Gloucester Excessive College pupil. CBC Information has agreed to not title him as he fears educational repercussions.
The coed mentioned he prevented utilizing loos on the college beginning in Grade 9 due to vaping and smoking gone unchecked.
As a substitute, he is used the services down the road at a plaza, “which may be very uncomfortable and unsightly,” he mentioned.
When he tried a college toilet once more final Could, he seen the lacking doorways and assumed they might get replaced. After they weren’t fastened by the point June rolled round, he reported them to the varsity principal, who mentioned he’d look into it, in keeping with the coed.
“No followup,” the coed mentioned.
Alum says ‘it wasn’t like this’ earlier than
The summer time handed and in late August, Sabreen Abu’s son additionally flagged the lacking doorways throughout a tour for brand new Grade 9 households, she mentioned.
“I went to Gloucester Excessive College over 20 years in the past and it wasn’t like this,” Abu mentioned. “It is very unhappy to see.”
Her son additionally walks all the way down to the plaza, she mentioned.
College students who spoke to CBC Information throughout the road from the varsity on Friday additionally voiced considerations.
“It is a lack of privateness,” mentioned Grade 12 pupil Eyad Elbadawi. “I do not assume anybody can be snug sufficient doing their very own enterprise with out the door.”
“It is uncomfortable if you want to, you understand,” echoed fellow Grade 12 pupil Edan Tudge, including that lacking stall doorways has been an “on and off” concern since 2019.
One other pupil shared a photograph he mentioned he took in June exhibiting no dividing wall between two bogs.
He mentioned it is nonetheless like that.
Stalls to be fastened subsequent week: college board
Gloucester Excessive College is represented by the Ottawa-Carleton District College Board.
A college board spokesperson mentioned Friday by way of e mail that some toilet stalls had been broken and have to be changed “because of vandalism.”
The unnamed pupil mentioned some stalls have been vandalized with markers, “however that does not imply you take away them and take away college students’ privateness.”
“Even when it was vandalism in Could, they’ve had months throughout the summer time to deliver the doorways again, which they nonetheless have not carried out,” he mentioned.
After CBC Information reached out to the varsity board on Friday, the spokesperson mentioned the board plans to repair the stalls subsequent week.
Within the meantime, “there are eight extra stalls or non-public loos out there to male college students on the principle ground of the varsity,” the spokesperson added. “Further stalls and personal loos can be found on the higher ground.”
