Any student that has attended the University at Buffalo for more than a couple weeks and has heeded the call of nature at least once can agree that the bathrooms here are in a sorry state.
I have been at this school for three semesters now, and I am appalled at how the flagship school of the SUNY system keeps up the places that every member of the student body, faculty and staff must visit.
I can understand paper towels on the floor and occasional toilet over-flows. That comes with the territory of any public restroom. I can also accept that the toilets and sinks break down and require repair or replacement.
What really gets my goat is when I find a bathroom in an even messier state the next day, where it is obvious that the only visitors were people who left more garbage behind, and the custodian either never came in or refused to clean the floor, empty the trash, or replace the rolls.
I also get steamed when a urinal that has been out of order for three semesters still remains out of order. This can be observed in the men's room on NSC's main floor. By the way, a plastic bag over the urinal means, "do not use." The puddle of urine on the bag and under the urinal do not speak well of the people who attend UB.
I realize that New York has cut the funds coming into UB and times are tight; I realize that maintenance and custodial staff are stretched thin on this sprawling campus; but when I don't see a floor swept for a week or a toilet fixed for over a year, I lose my patience.
Some restrooms do receive attention, though. The facilities in the Center for the Arts are always clean, well stocked, and in good repair. The reason for this I'm sure has a lot to do with how many wealthy visitors come through that particular building.
What this says to me is that UB is capable of good restroom maintenance and chooses not to simply because we, as students, are not important. This does not sit well with me. We may get the most for our money here at UB as far as public schools go, but we still shell out enough money each semester to deserve a clean place to answer nature's call.
All the blame does not rest on the school staff either. There are certainly some things that students cannot help doing in bathrooms that lessen the experience of others, but there are other actions that are not cool at all.
Don't rip the soap or paper towel dispensers off the wall. This does not prove your strength or rebelliousness. The restroom facing the Student Union seal has been perpetually losing its soap dispenser; this is inconsiderate and does not help the already-broke SUNY system in keeping the restrooms fully stocked and clean.
Also, students could try to toss their paper waste in an actual trashcan and not simply on the floor. I am among those people who prefer to open the door with the towel in my hand so I don't touch the handle. I also make certain to toss my garbage in a can, even if I have to go a little out of my way.
Spitting is a surprisingly prevalent problem, too. Most men don't want to belly up to the urinal only to find that they are now in danger of wiping someone else's mucous on their shirts. The faucet (and even handles of the sink) is yet another unpleasant place to find expectorant. If you have to spit, please spit in the basin.
One final suggestion for students: don't put anything in the urinals except for urine. It does not take much to cause these things to overflow, and a puddle of urine does not help anyone.
I'm not a neat freak, but it takes a whole new level of indifference to stomach the puddles that tend to accumulate in bathrooms like the one in NSC or the men's room on the second floor of Norton across from the elevator.
This is not just an issue that affects students who don't want to wade through puddles of waste to get to the stall. Imagine for a moment that you are a prospective student who is considering coming here to study. You take the tour and midway through Norton, you heed the call of nature and are hit with a perpetual foul smell, a wet floor, an empty soap container, and a paper towel dispenser that refuses to allow you to dry your hands.
So for everyone out there, take pride in your school, be courteous to others, and try to be somewhat clean.
For UB, please, for all of us, clean and repair in a timely manner.
E-mail: michael.tyson@ubspectrum.com
