Students damaging school bathrooms at MSD has remained an ongoing issue for multiple years. The flushing of any materials other than toilet paper, which is provided for students, causes extensive damage to the school’s plumbing system.

Multiple inanimate objects that have been flushed down the toilet have been clogging the school’s pipes and preventing students from using certain toilets throughout the day. When the toilets require services because of the clogged pipes, students are forced to wait in longer lines in other restrooms, and therefore, miss more valuable time in their classrooms.

“They often close off the restrooms which makes me miss class because I’ll have to sometimes walk all the way across the school to use the restroom, “ junior Renata Silva said.

The most recent issue arises due to the flushing of kitty litter. Although it may sound unusual, kitty litter is extremely detrimental to the school’s plumbing system. Regardless of the actual flushing of the kitty litter, the question as to why students are bringing kitty litter to school in the first place is being asked. This is still unknown.

The problem with flushing kitty litter, or any object, is that the septic system of the toilets are not designed to process anything other than human waste and biodegradable toilet paper. The toilet’s septic system operates on a delicate balance of microbes. Flushing the litter adds more solid waste load into the biological mix going on in the septic tank. Not only can this extra load disrupt the tank’s microbial balance, it can even cause harm to the environment.

Objects besides kitty litter have also been found being flushed. These include nicotine devices as well as cartridges that are illegal for minors to be in possession of in the first place. The flushing of gum has also become an issue.

“Kitty litter damages the pipes, chewing gum damages the pipes, vapes damage the pipes and those are our three biggest issues right now,” Campus Security Manager De Erika Carter said.

In an attempt to offset this issue, there have been multiple announcements made warning students of the consequences of being found participating in this schoolwide issue. They also sent a message to all students on the MSD Remind requesting that students take care of the school bathrooms as if they were their own.

The Remind message reads: “A note about restrooms, do not flush items down the toilet in order to intentionally clog the pipes. This school is your home away from home, let’s work together on keeping it in good condition.”

If found flushing kitty litter or any other objects, students face multiple consequences as severe as alerting law enforcement of the student’s actions.

“The school funds cover the plumbing charges until the student responsible for the damage is found,” Carter said. “Then, the parents of said student are held responsible for the various charges.”

Administrators urge students to take care of MSD’s restrooms and treat the campus with respect.