By John Zintz
CCC Journalism Program
BLACKWOOD – Several students, staff members and administrators have expressed their concerns over the difficulties of maintaining bathroom cleanliness at Camden County College, with neglectful behaviors listed as a contributing factor to the issue.
Numerous public restrooms are available for students and staff members to use at the school and despite their receiving maintenance and sanitation by those responsible to keep the restrooms clean, some who use them have expressed concerns about the quality of the work. With thousands of people on campus each day, it’s not always easy to maintain pristine, shining stalls all year round.
According to Maintenance Sales News, clean bathrooms at public and private schools are designed to promote student health, hygiene and privacy, allowing a safe space for users to feel comfortable and tranquil.
Factors contributing to the concerning quality of the college’s restrooms typically come from lack of maintenance and care from the users, stated several students and staff members.
School custodian Silvia Santa noted, “Students pee on the floor and the floor gets sticky.” She emphasized the importance of each bathroom’s containing the necessary supplies for users. “Each bathroom needs toilet paper, paper towels and soap for students to wash their hands.”
Another school custodian, Gail Allen, highlighted the neglect that some students have about preserving a clean restroom environment, stating, “Students clog up the toilets with toilet paper and paper towels.”
Pritchard Industries provide janitorial services to Camden County College, aiming to maintain all surface areas for safety and sanitary-related purposes. The college’s coordinator for handling custodial activities like cleaning and maintenance, Demitrius Cooper, listed the daily restroom maintenance tasks as follows:
Daily Restroom Services:
- Scour and disinfect toilet seats and bowls.
- Clean and sanitize all wash bins.
- Clean and polish glass mirrors.
- Empty all containers and disposals, inserting liners.
- Remove spots and splashes from walls adjacent to sinks.
- Replenish and refill all dispensers, toilet tissues, soap, hand towels.
- Wash all restroom floors thoroughly using disinfectant in water. Clean water is to be used in each restroom area.
- Clean/scour all corners in each restroom.
- All shower floors to be maintained stain free.
Matthew Cruz, a student at Camden County College, also said students are a potential cause for unclean bathrooms. “The lack of care by students to keep the stalls clean is the main problem,” he said. He described an instance where he discovered a disorderly stall. “There was a time when I saw a clogged toilet with toilet paper scattered around it.”
An article in The Fourth Estate described the spread of diseases derived from unkempt restrooms used by students, with data collected from multiple college campuses. It dove into how several attendees faced health concerns because of their private or public restrooms, with the lack of quality control cited as a contributing factor to the issue.
Another student at Camden County College, Dashiel Chase Alexander Grasty, said users bear some responsibility for bathroom cleanliness. “Bathroom tidiness falls to the people who don’t care enough to keep the restrooms clean and if (they) don’t see it as an issue, it will only become worse.”