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Women deserve their own bathrooms.
Since library construction began, the two previously single-sex, single-occupancy bathrooms on the top floor of the library have been unisex. We women used to have our own bathroom, and we want it back.
But now — how shall I say this? We often find the toilet seats up. The bathrooms, specifically the floors, are less clean. Should we women use the traditional men’s bathroom, some of the amenities are lacking. And you’d better double- and triple-check those locks are locked all the way (some people don’t know the difference between “vacant” and “in use”). I know there are men on campus with their own grievances as well.
Whenever possible and reasonable, men and women are both entitled to their own personal spaces in public settings. Even with the bathrooms being single-occupancy, the rooms present challenges. Women can’t discreetly dispose of feminine products in the men’s room and often have men waiting outside the bathroom while using it. Even on a safe campus like Hillsdale, this is uncomfortable for many women.
There are still separate women’s and men’s rooms on the second floor of the library. All the bathrooms in public spaces ought to follow this model.
Women’s restrooms exist for the sake of women’s safety and privacy and to account for biological differences. Women’s restrooms protect women and honor their dignity. Even the way we speak about them — “powder rooms” and “ladies’ rooms” — affords some delicacy and discretion to an otherwise embarrassing subject matter.
Separate bathrooms establish a clear boundary between the two sexes, which the college has, in many areas of campus life, enforced. This is why we have sex-segregated dorms and separate deans of men and women. Privacy and propriety can only benefit men and women. We don’t need to be pearl-clutching Victorian prudes to acknowledge that a sense of mystery ought to exist between men and women. There’s not a whole lot of mystery in those unisex library bathrooms.
Two unisex bathrooms in the library are hardly destroying campus morality or culture. Most women would likely still agree that campus feels safe, and there’s no danger of destroying male-female distinctions outright. But the unisex bathrooms put women in an uncomfortable and vulnerable position without good reason. They may not be significantly hurting anything, but they’re just not helping anyone.
Making the top-floor bathrooms unisex made sense — at one point. Since the library renovations blocked off the multiple-stalled bathrooms on the second floor, the unisex single-occupancy bathrooms can accommodate people more efficiently. However, with fewer people spending time in the library (which I bemoaned in a previous Collegian opinion piece), it’s prudent to separate the bathrooms by sex again.
If we can give proper respect to both sexes, we ought to do it. Men and women both deserve their own place. It’s time to switch it back.
Adriana Azarian is a senior studying politics.
