After weeks of only having access to one bathroom under strict surveillance, Del Val boys joined together to protest and burn down the B-Hall bathroom.

Throughout the 2024-2025 school year, Del Val boys have been struggling to keep their bathroom behavior appropriate, which led administration to restrict the boys’ bathroom access. If they needed to use the restroom, they were required to be patted down, have their bags searched, take a breathalyzer test, undergo drug testing, have their grades checked and pass a bathroom usage test prior to entering.

After dealing with these conditions for months, the students became increasingly upset and began to protest. James Kramer, a sophomore at Del Val, joined with fellow classmates in opposition of these conditions.

“It’s just not fair,” Kramer said. “We should be able to use the bathroom when we need to, without questioning.”

Kramer continued to explain how certain aspects of the pre-bathroom screening process felt unfair and frustrating.

“The grade check and pre-restroom quiz are really annoying. Guys shouldn’t have to study to gain access to the schools restrooms,” Kramer said.

As this shared anger grew, students took matters into their own hands by protesting. At first, the protests were peaceful as students expressed how they felt. However, as the protests continued, some students began to suspect that their efforts wouldn’t make a difference and felt they needed to take more extreme action.

As the protesters walked past the B-Hall bathroom, they began destroying it. They ripped sinks out of the wall, took doors off the hinges and even set parts of the restroom on fire.

Currently, due to the students’ actions, Del Val has no plans to rebuild the bathroom. Now, if any boy needs to use the restroom, he must go home and then return back to class.