Use only the cleanest, prettiest restrooms when nature calls

Monday, September 28, 1998

Use only the cleanest, prettiest restrooms when nature calls

REVIEW: Avoid high traffic facilities in Ackerman, check out
Kerckhoff, Covel Commons bathrooms

By Michelle Navarro

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

There are a few things in life everyone must do. Rich, poor, old
and young all must eat and sleep to properly function, day in and
day out.

And, of course, there is that other, less glamorous part of life
that belongs on that list as well – paying a visit to the
bathroom.

Lavatory, bathroom, rest room, powder room – pick a name, it’s
all the same. It’s the sanctuary for that call of nature that must
be obeyed. Whether out camping in the desert or in a crowded city
street, if one has to go, one must go, no matter what the
surroundings may be.

It is this horrible fact of life that forces people to endure
such tragic bathroom problems such as no toilet paper, long lines,
missing stall doors and the strange graffiti found in the
third-floor Ackerman bathrooms.

Fortunately, on a campus as large as UCLA, there are a variety
of rest rooms to choose from. So, even though students must remain
slaves to nature, they still have a choice of where to run to in
their time of need.

Among the bathrooms peppered along Bruin grounds, there is a
fair share of the good and the bad. Unfortunately, most of the less
desirable rooms are in the high traffic areas of campus. The better
ones are around – they’re just a little hidden.

Ackerman Union sits on a major vein of student flow, so
naturally its rest rooms receive a high amount of usage throughout
the day. Yet, they haven’t gotten rave reviews from students.

"The one in Ackerman Union is like an airport bathroom," said
Eugene Park, a graduate of the University of Illinois, who was on
campus to take a summer course. "You just go in and out and do your
business. You’re on the clock."

Perhaps that’s what is needed in an area where people just need
a place to stop on the way to class.

Across the bridge on the first floor of Kerckhoff Hall, however,
are rest rooms worth going the extra yard for. Not many students
pass through Kerckhoff, so these bathrooms stay relatively decent
throughout the day.

Cleanliness isn’t the only aspect that sets them apart. It’s the
environment as well.

As opposed to the metallic stalls and pale yellow walls of the
rest room on the second floor, the first-floor Kerckhoff rest rooms
are lined with gray and green tiles. The water from the faucet
flows generously in a waterfall-like fashion and, most importantly,
it’s air-conditioned. Nice.

Royce Hall and Covel Commons have similarly styled,
well-ventilated lavatories where colorful tiles adorn the
walls.

Appearances aren’t everything though; a couple of students
prefer the rest room in Powell Library for its abundance of
space.

"It’s so spacious," Park said. "It’s like a lecture hall. It’s a
whole other course."

"It makes you feel like you’re on a throne," said Wen Fan, a
fourth-year biology student.

Where design, cleanliness and space may characterize a good
bathroom, inconvenience identifies a bad one. For example the Covel
Commons rest rooms, which were admired for their environment, fall
into this trap.

"It’s bad because it’s outside the cafeteria," said Chi Man Yue,
a UCLA alumnus. "If you have to go, it’s annoying."

One other rest room inconvenience plagues only female Bruins,
and on this campus it has proved troublesome to one student.

"The worst bathrooms are on South Campus," said Vivian Ghindi, a
fifth-year World, Arts and Cultures student. "Not one has a maxi
pad machine. At least in North Campus you have a chance of finding
one."

Although everyone has their lavatory pet peeves, the healthy
side is another aspect that may be hard to see with the naked eye,
but must not be ignored.

Floating and sitting around the sinks and toilet seats are a
wide array of bacteria. If the degree of cleanliness is any
indication of how germ-laden a bathroom is, one may quickly reason
that men’s rooms are worse than women’s.

Although more trash may be found lying around in the men’s room,
as one facilities management employee pointed out, last year the
American Society of Microbiology reported that women’s rest rooms
are more ridden with germs than men’s.

The report cited reasons for this as being that women are more
likely to bring children in with them, visit the bathroom more
frequently, and stay around longer.

Of course, one way to fight the lurking micro-dangers, which may
spread anything from a cold to diarrhea and other intestinal
problems, is to wash your hands before leaving.

Sadly, in another study, the American Society for Microbiology
found that only 74 percent of women and 61 percent of men wash
up.

With so many things to worry about, choosing a bathroom is
tricky. So the next time nature makes a call, keep options in
mind.

As for the bacterial worries, it’s something a little washing
can help. It may seem cumbersome at times, but it’s necessary for
restricting those germs to the bathrooms.

Perhaps a scenic view could make the task a little more
pleasant.

"I like the bathroom in Haines Hall because the view is so
pretty," Ghindi nodded convincingly. "As you wash your hands you
can look upon Perloff Quad."

CHARLES KUO

The restrooms in Covel Commons get the thumbs up for colorful
tiles, potted plants and tissue dispensers that pop out from the
walls. However, their location outside, instead of inside, the
dining halls gets a thumbs down.

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