A constant theme throughout President Barack Obama’s inaugural speech was that we must remember – especially in this time of crisis and uncertainty – the importance of responsibility. Allow me to draw a parallel between the central message of the speech by our Commander-in-Chief and a topic close to our hearts here at Paly: our bathrooms.
Unless you have a bladder of iron, you have probably had the misfortune of being forced to brave the stench and horrid appearance of our abused restrooms. Over the years, Paly publications have written articles expressing utter disgust, condemnation, and hope for the future with respect to our school’s beloved “facilities.” We will spare our readers the imagery here. Much has been said in the criticism of the administration and of the student body, very similar to the blame of the financial meltdown on our government and on the citizens. President Obama stepped up to let the American people know that they can make the difference in turning our economy around. In much the same way, The Paly Voice hopes to make students aware that they too can make a difference.
In an article by The Campanile from 2002, the bathrooms at Paly were described as “something out of a bad horror movie.” In 2004, The Campanile described the restrooms as “atrocities.” Now, in 2009, after every negative adjective has been used over the years to describe our bathrooms, the situation is no better. Desperate times call for desperate measures; it is time to take the words out of our President’s mouth and exploit them for the sake of sanitation.
Our new president was undoubtedly speaking of Paly’s sanitation crisis on Tuesday. “Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real, they are serious and they are many,” Obama said in his inaugural speech. “They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this [Paly]: They will be met.”
President Obama continued to make it clear that the solution lay in the actions of individuals. “What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility – a recognition, on the part of every [student], that we have duties to ourselves and our [school], duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task,” he said. As difficult as the task of executing lay-ups rather than three-pointers when discarding paper towels may be, each and every one of us must rise to the challenge. If you must, practice at home to ensure accuracy at school.
How will these seemingly insurmountable challenges – in the form of stray bodily fluids, used toilet paper, and unflushed toilets – be overcome? We have complained in print and in person to the administration, but the solution lies not in our entreaties for higher standards. According to Obama, we must realize that “as much as [the administration] can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the [Paly student body] upon which this [school] relies.” That’s right, Paly, we must be determined to clean up after ourselves. After all, it seems that as one of the national leaders in education, we should at least show ourselves to be capable of peeing in a straight line, flushing, and washing our hands.
Paly: hope lies in the future, but only if we seize the present and resolve to make a difference. We must fight the fight; “let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter [in attempting to be civilized].” To those students all over the school who seek to deface our restrooms or blame it all on the administration, know that our student body will judge you on the clean environment you build, not on your ability to defecate everywhere other than the toilet.
For everywhere we look, there is a paper towel to pick up, a toilet to unclog. The state of our restrooms calls for action, bold and swift, and as the students of Palo Alto High School we must respond with strength of virtue, with a showing of responsibility and civility. In the (paraphrased) words of our president: starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking our bathrooms.