Tewksbury Memorial High School students have been vandalizing the bathrooms throughout the school with racially insensitive comments and inappropriate drawings on the walls. The incident started in late November when the second floor bathroom was vandalized. That specific bathroom was then closed down. However, addressing the second floor bathroom chaos was not enough for the students to stop and the third floor bathrooms and locker room were struck.

Mr. Bernard, TMHS principal, has addressed this issue multiple times through emails addressed to both students and parents. Even though the situation has been addressed, it seems as though nothing concrete has been done about this ongoing issue. The Tewksbury Police Department has been assisting the school with dealing with this, however from a students point of view, more action should have been dealt out.

The bathroom incidents affect all students and faculty here at TMHS. New bathroom policies had to be put in place due to the incidents and many students feel uncomfortable with them. There is a new system in place where students have to request a pass through an internet portal which then tracks the time you left and the time you came back. Although this new system is helping the school keep track of who is going where and when, students feel uncomfortable being so distrusted in their own school.

The faculty here at Tewksbury Memorial High School are more than ever stressed with other issues. Worrying about bathrooms being vandalized and wondering where the student who left the room momentarily is enough on their plate. Mr. Bernard sent out a detailed email explaining different solutions to address and hopefully fix the underlying hostility in the school. He would like to start the challenge day program back at the school as well as have a peer mentoring program. He has also proposed a new club that focuses on providing students with an opportunity to share experiences and learn from others.

The administration at TMHS is trying very hard to create a school environment that is safe, inclusive, and more enjoyable. The people who are creating distrust and chaos are the students who aren’t respectful of the school, staff and other students who are just here to learn and teach. My hope and I think every other student and staff in the building, is to have a fun filled year with no more behavior issues.