A common notice around school has been the mirrors being removed from the restrooms all around Shadow. The main reason for taking them down is to help the overcrowding in the bathrooms and to improve the safety of students. 

“The decision to take the mirrors down was an administrative decision because of overcrowding in the bathroom. We received numerous complaints from parents, students, and teachers about crowding in the bathroom,” says Mrs. Mashiela Moore. 

Many have noticed that anytime they go to the bathroom it is full with students and is very cramped. 

Moore says, “The excuse for male and females was ‘I’m in the mirror checking my appearance.’ We have noticed a decline in overcrowding in the bathroom since there is no longer an excuse that they are freshening up.”

One drive for taking down the mirrors was the rise in teens vaping and smoking. The policy about vaping and smoking has been

posted in several spots around the school making all aware. 

“We have put up signs notifying students of the bathroom policy, as well as what happens if they don’t follow it,” Moore says. 

The lack of mirrors has not gone unnoticed around the school. Students may not agree but do understand. 

“Honestly its really annoying but I don’t really care, plus I get why they did it,” says sophomore Amri Law. 

Just because mirrors have been removed, students can still check on their looks as many students have cellular phones. The use of phones to check appearances keeps an extra body out of the bathroom. 

Moore says, “Students may use their phone to check their appearance instead of crowding the bathroom. We know that the majority of the students here have a cell phone so they do have access to check their appearance.” 

Though students are annoyed by the lack of mirrors, the lack of smoking in the stalls seems to make up for it. 

“I do miss the mirrors as it was nice to make sure my hair was ok or something when I use the restroom, it is nice to walk into a bathroom and not have every stall full of kids vaping. Though some still do, there is much less crowding going on,” says sophomore Madi Miller. 

While the lack of mirrors has not been everyone’s favorite, it has proven to be successful in helping to lessen the amount of people in the bathroom at one time improving safety within the restroom.