THE ECHO

By Gage Armstrong // Reporter

When the bell rings, you head straight to class. You could go talk to some friends, or you could use the bathroom: A safe, clean space to get your hair tucked away, accessories organized, hands washed, and body relieved. Well, if you chose the latter option, it’s no shock to say that those descriptors aren’t exactly accurate, especially when it comes to the stalls. AHS’s bathroom stalls are littered with graffiti more than ever. But what’s going on? What usually takes a week to wipe away has become a permanent staple on some of the stalls. 

Assistant Principal Mr. Klipsch, explained that “Last Spring, a certain paint company sold AHS a product that they said would be anti-tampering, specifically designed for high school. The paint company, what I assumed happened, didn’t look at the material that was going to be painted over, and neglected to tell AHS that there was a bonding agent, such as a primer or something like that, that was supposed to go on first.” 

With this, students have been chipping away at the paint rather than marking on the stalls, leading to an influx of graffiti due to the increased accessibility. The paint was applied to almost every stall in the building. And there’s still plenty of it to use. 

But why not strip the paint? Klipsch describes the paint as, “almost like a dried glue. So, trying to sand dried glue, it doesn’t come off in flakes or powder like traditional paint. When it comes off, it gets spun up in the sander and gets gunked up, making it difficult to get off.” 

What exactly can be done from here then?

Principal Mr. Shockley addressed the issue, informing staff that “We advocated and were approved to replace the partitions in those areas with similar ones found in our new restrooms. New partition materials make it very difficult for graffiti to be left.”

The timeline given for the new partitions was “weeks,” so students should expect an improvement sometime after Fall Break.