It seems we make life far more complicated than it needs to be. The endless rules established by society pressure each of us to perform and understand a nearly unfathomable list of duties and etiquette. Day in and day out, though the stipulations may differ from culture to culture, these rules and quirks to human habit persist in every corner of the world.
In fact, much of what makes a culture, is that which a group of people do by habit for generations. Such as, the pilgrimage to Mecca in Muslim culture and Ash Wednesday to Catholics. However, not all are limited to religious groups, the fact that we all (should) hold our forks the same way when we eat, is also an example of our culture, and that we wipe our feet before entering a carpeted area or making eye-contact when being spoken to, all exemplify non-essential, culturally based, human habits.
I, would like to extend this idea of culture, into the everyday life in high school. Of course, high schools are a microcosm of a larger society, but they do tend to hold a separate set of rules and attitudes towards what the larger society surrounding them does.
High schools in general have some specific role in society and all tend to share a level of commonality other than the grades and ages that attend the educational facility. Most likely, if one were to enter any other public high school in the country, there would be at least a few, set and unchangeable rules that are apparent.
A secondary educational facility could be a gold mine for anyone who likes to study human habit, frustrating yet revealing. It seems that while most are able to abide by the unwritten rules of society there are some deeply concerning, honestly baffling, and down right gross violations of the unwritten rules of these halls on a day to day bases. And it’s time that we address them.
Bathroom Etiquette
For my first blog post, I would like to address a specific aspect of the more broad topic of bathroom etiquette. This issue isn’t necessarily an issue isolated to RBHS in specific, yet it is only pertinent to this area simply because we all use the same facilities. Now, my goal here is not to sound whiny but really just ask, using this blog as a speaking point, that we follow the basic social rule of cleaning up after ourselves.
The problem is massive, yet the solution is so simple. I really don’t feel like re-potty training people throughout the school but rather just ask for everyone to maybe refresh themselves on their copy of Everybody Poops. Promptly following this refreshment of why you feel the need to go, I would like everyone to rethink the steps laid out for us at home that immediately follow using the toilet.
Honestly, the idea I’m trying to convey could very easily brought to a sarcastic level, but I’m being blunt and just asking that we just please clean up our own crap up, literally.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who has come into a restroom with no stalls clean, flushed and dry of pee. Now, I’m really only speaking from a guy’s point of view, and I can’t speak for the girls’ situation, but the boys’ room are bad enough that it’s worth mentioning. I know not everyone just destroys the toilet and walks away, but apparently enough people are that it often comes to the point where people have to get the janitorial staff to clean up after us, as if we can’t do it ourselves.
In all I understand there is a time and place for bathroom humor, but honestly everyone, your poop and pee is not nearly as interesting to others as you might think. So let’s just flush and lift up the seat.
By Ross Parks
