The debate over gender-neutral bathrooms surfaces once more in a recent podcast produced by Hays Gender Studies club.

The debate centers around whether or not our school should open up a gender neutral bathroom for not only transgender students, but also students with anxiety or any other students who just need a safe environment. The gender neutral bathroom would be located in the A-hall, originally used as a teacher bathroom. The Hays Fem Club has created a podcast with their statement and idea for the bathroom which is linked below. Many students for and against the bathrooms had also created many polls on whether the bathrooms are necessary.

This has caused many arguments between students on which this bathroom is a necessity or just an unnecessary installment. Hays Media has asked multiple students for and against the bathrooms and these were their opinions:

“I think it’s something really important. There are a lot of students at this school who have been made to feel marginalized or rejected simply because they don’t have a comfortable way to meet a physiological need. Students are made to walk for long distances to hidden locations if they are in search of a unisex restroom. Our goal is to help make all students more comfortable and hopefully as a result, change the culture of Hays to be more understanding and accepting of all students no matter our differences. We’ve seen through the online hate that it is definitely needed. It is important for people to know that it is free and only affects the single stall restrooms already in existence.” -Mahalia Norton, 11

“I think the establishment of gender neutral bathrooms would cause more problems than it would solve, potentially inciting the kind of violence that we’re trying to avoid, especially when no one at Hays has been harmed physically for that reason thus far. I don’t think that teachers should have to sacrifice the only clean bathrooms in the school because of the anxiety and nerves in an extremely small minority of people, especially when there’s already two gender neutral bathrooms. No they’re not convenient but they do exist, and this situation can be resolved without anyone having to sacrifice something.” -Ethan Heatwole (11)

“Gender neutral bathrooms are not necessary. If you have a vagina go to the girls bathroom. If you have a penis go to the boys bathroom. There are people all over the world who don’t have toilets and pee in a ditch. We have other issues such as solving world hunger and cleaning our oceans before our world dies. Time is running out you ding dongs.” -Amari Edwards (12)

“I think gender neutral bathrooms are really a positive thing that should be implemented at Hays. I think they provide a space for people who are not comfortable with using a specific gendered restroom, or have other problems using the multi stalled system. I think they receive a lot of unnecessary back lack, because the purpose of them is truly just to provide an alternative for those seeking a comfortable and private space to use the bathroom, and if anyone has an issue, they don’t have to use it! I hope people see that gender neutral bathrooms are not a threat, but a solution to a problem faced by many, whether they are vocal on it or not.” -Emma Jackson (12)

Link to HHS Gender Studies Podcast: https://m.soundcloud.com/hhs-gender-studies-club/the-need-for-gender-neutral-restrooms-podcast