These are specially designated spaces for handling nerve-wracking, puke-inducing moments, whether for an international organisation, a country, or a company. Students, too, have their own crisis room for academic mayhem. Now can you guess what it is?

This place is none other than the washroom (or bathroom, toilet, you decide what you want to call it).

The divine sanctuary 

Let me explain why the washroom is arguably one of the most important spaces on a campus (school or university, it hardly matters). 

Suppose you have confidential information about an upcoming test, but you are paranoid about the possibility that a teacher might accidentally swoop during the revelation. The best option is to disclose it in the washroom because it is one of the least monitored spaces on campus. After all, who would want to spend their day patrolling bathrooms, breathing in its unmistakable ‘golden aroma’?

Or imagine you are overwhelmed during an exam. The washroom feels like a safer choice than whispering across desks – no invigilator policing, no immediate risk of getting caught and potentially penalised. Plus, there is almost always someone there too: a peer, a senior or a junior who would, in their own way, try to help a comrade out.

Or consider the moments before a presentation, either your hands are shaking, or your mind is blank, or even you forgot to memorise the script. At that point, the washroom becomes a legitimate refuge.

A teacher cannot, or at least should not, deny a bathroom break. You take that chance: splash water on your face, relax your shoulders, steady your breathing, exchange a few words of encouragement with equally panicked peers, and rehearse your opening line in front of a cracked mirror. Even if it is not the best preparation, you would still walk back out calmer and more composed than before.

The last bastion of freedom of speech 

Bathrooms also serve as confession booths. This is where the most honest, unhinged, and unsolicited opinions about courses, life plans, or even startup ideas are aired. Furthermore, these comments are being made in a secure place as they will never make it beyond the tiled walls.

And yet, for a space where so much reflection and informal learning occur, it is both surprising and concerning how little reflection goes into maintaining it.

Tips to avoid crisis 

Most of us have had to use the washroom of our institution at least once, and if you never encountered an issue, consider yourself one of the luckiest students on campus.

The problems themselves are hardly unfamiliar. It can range from a lack of toilet paper, soap dispensers, clogged toilets, dirty floors, female-friendly washrooms, to no washrooms at all (you name it). 

Personally, I try to use the washrooms on the upper floors of a building, as the foot traffic tends to be lower (please don’t steal my strategy). However, while it is disappointing that an institution cannot ensure such a basic necessity for a student, totally pinning the blame on the administration would be unfair as well.

Students, too, often lack what may be regarded as lavatory literacy. Tissues are left outside waste bins, unflushed toilets, and occasionally, some people use this place as a hideout for smoking. 

On a memorable occasion, I have witnessed cigarette butts dumped into a soap dispenser. Such behaviour reveals another underlying issue: does the quality of our education simply focus on making individuals literate? Does it not focus on shaping us into more considerate human beings?

The loo; our human right  

No doubt about the fact that clean and functional washrooms are a necessity and not a luxury. For students who have to spend 4 to 5 hours on campus, it is not possible for them to sit in agony and discomfort and hold it in until they reach their home. 

It is not realistic nor healthy. Holding urine for too long can lead to serious health issues such as urinary tract infections, kidney problems, bladder dysfunction, etc.

The solution does not lie in developing athlete-level bladders. It lies within the collaboration between the students and the administration. 

These shared spaces deserve respect, including the staff members who are tasked with maintaining them, as they have to deal with the consequences of our daily misuse. 

If dignity cannot be ensured in the most basic of spaces, it raises important questions about what we prioritise and what we choose to overlook. This is equally applicable to both students and the administration.