Over the past couple of years, the Poly Upper School has experienced a noticeable rise in bathroom vandalism. There have been approximately 10 incidents this year, with damage occurring exclusively in boys’ bathrooms across the campus.
Damages have included graffiti on walls, etchings into stall doors and other significant messes that operations staff have had to clean up and repair. In one instance, staff discovered a palm frond shoved into a toilet, blocking plumbing and adding to the growing list of disruptions. In multiple other incidents, stall doors have been ripped off their hinges.
The damages are a clear violation of Poly’s Community Handbook, which states that students are expected to “treat the possessions of others with the same respect that would be expected from others, and recognize that taking something without permission is stealing and mistreating school property is vandalism.”
“Property damage is serious,” said Upper School Dean of Students Jen Cardillo. “It affects the entire community, not just the people directly involved.”
Even when students are aware that vandalism has occurred, reports have not been made. This lack of reporting makes it difficult for administrators to understand the full scope of the problem, as well as determine who may be responsible. Without that information, preventing future incidents has become much harder.
Beyond the inconvenience, vandalism carries real costs and legal repercussions. Repairs take time and money that could otherwise be invested in other areas of school life. When bathrooms are damaged, they may also need to be temporarily closed, which further inconveniences students during the school day.
“We need to put in maintenance reports to handle incidents, and operations staff often need specialized equipment,” Cardillo shared. “I’m really hoping that we can come together as a community and prevent further damage to our campus.”
During recent Morning Meeting announcements, Upper School Dean of Student Activities Laurianne Williams has encouraged students to report vandalism to a faculty member immediately after noticing damage, noting that even small pieces of information can help them identify patterns and prevent further incidents.
If this issue persists, Williams shared that administrators will be forced to implement stricter measures to solve the problem.
“We’ve talked about putting cameras outside to see who’s going in and out of the bathroom, or having students scan their IDs before entering,” said Williams. Administrators hope that increased awareness will encourage students to take more responsibility for community spaces.
“I feel that vandalism, for our age, is usually caused by a group of people instead of one person. When someone is with their friends, they tend to try to have a good time with each other and forget the real consequences of their actions,” shared sophomore Conner Wang.
