I’m no engineer or architect, but I feel that every time a building is created, the bathrooms are always an afterthought, and wrongfully so. There are so many factors that are not taken into consideration in terms of restroom design, thus leading to a poor, recurring experience. As I left The Mirror office to use the restroom in the Barone Campus Center, my annoyed internal dialogue inspired me to write an article ranking the facilities across campus and how incredibly their designs vary because this is important stuff! 

Barone Campus Center – Starting at the root of it all, the BCC’s lower level bathroom has got to be the bottom of the barrel. The hallway always smells funky, so before you even get to the facilities, your experience is already tainted. I usually use the first stall in any bathroom (because I once heard it was the cleanest), so I automatically turn the corner and enter my chosen one, and every time I always forget that it flushes with incredible anger as it splashes and roars loudly for a minute straight. The door also lacks a hook to hold my backpack or purse, so I am forced to leave my belongings on the bacteria-filled floor. I also don’t know whether or not people just forget to flush or there is a problem with the flushing system in this specific bathroom, but there is always at least one toilet that has leftovers from the last user. However, the worst part of this bathroom is the width of the door cracks for each stall. There has not been a single time that I’ve used this toilet and haven’t made direct eye contact with another student or faculty member. 0/10, someone please fix it.

Bannow Science Center – Bannow is probably the most unsettling bathroom there is on campus, as it reminds me of Regis Hall bathrooms. The yellow and gray tiling proves the outdated build along with the strange sink and mirror setup. Although I appreciate the small door-to-stall ratio, the creepy vibes are not enough to bump up its score. 3/10.

Library – The first floor library bathroom is okay. It is decently sized and it’s clean for the most part. However, I just highly dislike using it because every time I leave, all of the students studying look over in my direction. I know it’s just because they hear the door closing which draws their attention, but my mind can’t help but think that they are all judging me or heard me flush the toilet. 5/10.

RecPlex – The RecPlex has numerous stalls to accommodate the large mass of students who use its facilities. It’s always clean and is in a hidden hallway so the area is more private. While I am partial to the upstairs bathroom, I still like the one in the basement because I adore the locker room (it reminds me of my high school). But the door-between-wall ratio is much larger downstairs and as I have said multiple times: this should be a crime! Also, I prefer sinks with a handle because half the time, the automatic sensor doesn’t see my hand and I have to restart it 6 times to finish my process. 7/10 for upstairs, 5/10 for downstairs.

Media Center – This is what I would call a pretty average bathroom. There is nothing too fancy about it, yet nothing terrible either. It has a good amount of stalls and vanity space which I appreciate, and the doors are cracked only slightly, therefore, reducing your bold eye contact time. Honestly, if I’m in need of a bathroom when I’m in the media center, I just wait until I get back to my room since I am a two-minute walk from my own personal, clean space. 7/10.

Dolan School of Business – It’s nice, but as it should be since it’s very new as well! The modern look, vanity space and full-length mirror are all great additions, but the bright floor panels make it easy to see stains and it’s littered with toilet paper, and that’s just unsettling. If it were cleaned more often, it would be in the top two. 8/10.

Canisius Hall – My biggest takeaway: the doors don’t have a gap! Each stall has a hanger for your bags, there are two soap dispensers so you don’t have to reach over another person when washing your hands, and there is a sanitary napkin dispenser for use. Also, there are only paper towels instead of blow dryers, which I prefer because apparently, those machines are awfully dirty. The only odd thing is that you have to push a button on the side of the handlebar to flush the toilet, and it is almost impossible to do it with your foot (the sanitary way), so unfortunately what would’ve been a perfect score, is knocked down a few pegs due to this. 8/10. 

Donnarumma Hall – Instead of having two bathrooms, male and female, the first floor of Donnarumma has two rooms: one gender neutral with stalls and one private gender neutral. Throughout the rest of the building, they are gendered. Both restrooms have locks for comfort and safety, which I really appreciate and the area itself is incredibly spacious. Nothing really else to say, I’m thankful for a nice area in an academic building I’m in two days out of the week. 9/10.

Egan School of Nursing – Since the School of Nursing is one of the most recently renovated academic buildings on campus, the expectations are rightfully high – and thankfully, it meets them. Egan is almost luxurious in its design, it’s clean and modern and has a very simple layout. Everything is new and works properly, it’s an easy 10/10.

Hopefully, this has not only given some Stags a good idea of which places to best relieve themselves, but also potential bathroom designers an extensive what to do and what not to do list. I am definitely thankful for the numerous possibilities on campus; especially since I didn’t even include all of the dormitories, the Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J. Center, athletic facilities or McAuliffe Hall (my apologies, but even if it is the nicest bathroom on campus, I will not be making that hike). But for heaven’s sake, someone please replace the doors in the BCC! 

About The Author

-- Senior I Executive Editor I English Creative Writing & Digital Journalism --

Brooke is a senior English Creative Writing and Digital Journalism major, with minors in Film, Television & Media and Editing & Publishing. She plans to pursue a career in screenwriting after graduation.

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