Moving into my college dorm room, I was skeptical about sharing a communal bathroom with the other girls on my floor. It’s often not as clean as I would hope, and I despise having to wait in line to use the sink at the end of the night to take off my makeup and brush my teeth. But the one thing I absolutely can’t stand is the never-ending anxiety that comes with taking a shower in my residence hall bathroom.
My dorm is in one of the only buildings in my residence complex that is entirely co-ed. All four floors and all four halls are inhabited by students of any gender, with two men’s restrooms and two women’s restrooms on every floor. One of the first things I took note of was that there were no locks or doors on the showers in the bathrooms, only two curtains that separate you from the rest of the bathroom. These curtains offered no way to secure them to ensure that they do not fly open in the middle of a shower. Now, it makes plenty of sense why the actual bathroom door has no lock. If something were to happen, it would be incredibly dangerous to have a lock on the bathroom in its entirety, but it’s important to acknowledge the danger of not having security in the shower stalls.
Women ages 18-24 are at an elevated risk of sexual violence according to rainn.org, a site dedicated to supporting survivors of sexual violence. In addition to that, one in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college, with nine out of 10 women coming forward saying their offender was someone they knew prior. Between that and the “Red Zone,” a period of the beginning of the school year when sexual assault is more likely to occur, I find it shocking that UConn would allow for their residence hall showers to be so easily accessible for others to open while occupied. There should be preventative measures taken in residence buildings, such as lockable shower doors, to add that extra layer of protection within shower stalls.
One of the most confusing aspects of this situation is the fact that toilets already have lockable stall doors, but showers do not. By that logic, we can have guaranteed privacy while using the restroom, but when students are at their most vulnerable in the shower, they have to just hope someone doesn’t come by and pull back the curtain.
According to the Lowe’s website, it would cost between $875 to $1,575 per stall for plastic laminate partitions, based on size. That price does include installation, but it is generally not that expensive when you consider how much most students pay in tuition a year. With the elevated risk of sexual violence on college campuses, the cost per stall is a low price to pay for the elevated safety of students. In addition, having questionable safety measures that put students’ dignity at risk is not a good look for the university. If students were to have repeated issues with privacy in residence hall bathrooms, why would anyone want to apply or live on campus?
I do want to make myself clear, the installation of lockable stall doors on residence hall showers will not end campus sexual assault entirely. Rather, I think it would help students feel safer. I also do not think that this is an issue isolated to co-ed dorms, as I think every shower on campus should have locks like the ones that they have in the locker rooms at the UConn Recreation Center.
Students deserve more than two curtains that give the illusion of privacy in our communal bathrooms. The transition to college is a very difficult and intimidating time for any student. So, why add more stress to students and parents when the solution to this issue is so incredibly obtainable?
Well written and great point