Many male animals mark their territories by urinating or leaving some kind of scent to let other animals know they are about to invade. It seems human males have taken the term literally. Just take a look in pretty much any public restroom, especially at Bakersfield College.
Entering a stall located in a restroom in the Humanities Building section of BC, the graffiti immediately catches your eye. Everything from gang-related initials, hate speech, jokes and plenty more (I am sure if anyone has used the facilities, they know what I am talking about). Most of the writings could be categorized as very offensive, but I think most people accept it as comical.
BC has restrooms everywhere. You can find one from any class in a few minutes, and according to the writing on the walls, the restrooms here are a pretty popular hangout. If you need to go take care of your business, you don’t even need reading material. The walls are filled with notes and numbers, many of them have replies and seem to be continual conversations.
The facilities located in the gym seem to be the worse of all. There is not only graffiti in the stalls, but all over the walls of the room.
It looks like an unfinished mural with colors and big bubble letters. Mural may have been the wrong word to use, since it may bring to mind artwork that somehow beautifies the area, which this in no way, shape or form does.
The different colors of paint on walls throughout campus restrooms are the signs of covering all the old graffiti, but you wouldn’t know because there is new graffiti over the paint.
Although some of the writing on the walls is pretty funny, it is an eyesore. The words and pictures seem somewhat childish, and don’t seem to be something you would see on a college campus, but it’s there, and it always will be.
I don’t believe there is a way to break the cycle.
It would probably cause a problem if the school decided to keep an eye on people using the restroom, but what else would stop the problem?
I guess BC will just have to stock up on paint and brushes and deal with the problem.