Most people at Blake have had to unfortunately experience the stench of the 2nd floor B building hallway at least once in their life. For many unknown reasons, this hallway seems to have the most pungent smell out of all the bathrooms in the school. The Jacket took it to themselves to investigate the bathroom and find out where the smell derives from.
Most people here assume the cause of the stench is from a lack of cleaning from the custodian team. But, if that’s so, then why is every other bathroom stink free? Larry Brown, head of the custodian department, declined a chance to be interviewed. Whether the cause of the issue comes from the custodians or not, the school will have no way of knowing. But it’s safe to say the custodians do their job.
The other obvious option is the blame lays on the people using the bathrooms. Specifically the boys. 50% of the boys interviewed who have used the 2nd floor B building bathroom admit to not aiming. Mr. Johnson, a teacher whose classroom is on the same floor as the bathrooms has a theory of why the boys refuse to aim. Certain sources including Johnson, have claimed boys pee onto the walls so they can avoid getting urine onto their shoes. Most boys who were interviewed said they thought the smell comes from a major lack of aiming but, the shoe theory has not been confirmed. This does not mean it should be ignored.
The boys may not be completely to blame. Some psychological issues may be the reason as to why these boys act out and urinate on everything else except the urinal. Ms. Williams, the school psychologist, says social psychology may be the cause. “The students grew up in that kind of environment where those behaviors are acceptable… They never learned those basic skills to take care of self.” If this is the case, boys can get help to learn these new skills. The first reasoning is something boys can’t be completely to blame for. However, there is a second reason. One that’s quite malicious. Ms. Williams claims boys may misuse the school’s restroom as a form of anarchy towards Blake. They urinate on the walls so they can disrespect the school without getting in trouble.
Whatever the cause may be, the whole school can agree that it’s not a pleasant hallway to walk through. This may be an endless tug of war between custodians and the boys who pee on the floor. The janitors clean, then immediately the students mistreat it. You can sense a major difference in the atmosphere between early in the morning and later in the day. It is unknown as to why the students choose this bathroom and this one alone to vandalize with bodily fluids.