Between the buildings on the Kingswood Oxford campus, there are plenty of bathrooms for every student, but which overall is the best?
THE WORST
In last place would be the third-floor Roberts bathrooms. You walk through the squeaky door into an ominous, dark nook with a chair that I doubt anyone has ever sat in, just to proceed into a three-stall room with an uncomfortable, strong, and artificial lemon-scented aura. The stalls themselves are fine, with three working toilets and plenty of toilet paper. But only having one sink, and a strange slab of linoleum countertop over what looks like it used to be another sink, makes the potential three bathroom users at once have to wait in an awkward line, just to wash their hands. The scent, interior design, and lack of functionality are what put this bathroom in last place.
SIXTH PLACE
In sixth place are the Seaverns bathrooms, which I am grouping into one. They all have the same setup, design, and scent. They have the same door handles as the rest of the rooms in the Seaverns building, which are unnecessarily difficult to open. They are all one-stall, with unreliable locks. The awful, potent lemon scent follows you throughout the different single-stall restrooms. The floor plan of these restrooms is not flawless, considering there is a stall inside the gender neutral rooms. Don’t worry, after locking the door and walking past the urinal, you can lock the stall for extra security because the locks on the doors don’t always work. One positive of these outdated stall rooms: they are very accessible. With six around the building, there is a bathroom close to every class for all emergencies.
FIFTH PLACE
In fifth place, we have the second-floor Roberts bathrooms near the theatre. I’m not exactly sure what to call the atrium/foyer awkward area that one has to walk to just to get to the toilets, but it makes for an awkward run-in with anyone standing there. I don’t know if the strange waste of space was supposed to be a dressing room for theatre productions, but considering they have their own dressing rooms backstage, I don’t know if these are ever used for any important purposes. The bathrooms themselves smell like a mix of mildew and mold, creating a questionable “Should I be breathing this in?” thought bubble in my head as I walk in. They have five stalls, which creates enough space for all the guests of the productions to empty their bladders during intermission. They have two giant rolls of toilet paper, making sure nobody ever runs out. They are accessible, but have a weird layout and scent, leading them to their fifth-place ranking on the podium of bathrooms.
FOURTH PLACE
In fourth place comes the field house bathrooms by the tennis courts and yoga studio. While these don’t get used often, they have good accessibility to the courts and fitness center, creating easy access during tennis practices and strength and conditioning. Considering the KO Open House takes place in the field house, having a place for all the guests to use the bathrooms is very helpful. These bathrooms are a little dark, but they are a good size, with three stalls. They have lots of toilet paper and paper towels; however, the doors are a little broken in the women’s room. Overall, these bathrooms are well located and only have slight issues.
THIRD PLACE
In third place, we have the lovely bathrooms in Roberts Lobby. These are nice, modern bathrooms; however, the gaps in between the stall and the door are so large and sit directly in front of the toilet. This is one of the most unfortunate features of a bathroom with such potential. They sit in a very convenient spot, close to the administrators’ offices, staircases, College Counseling, and a fun place to hang out and study. Another negative, on top of the stall gaps, is the fact that this bathroom always smells. Not like the previously described lemon, but like human waste. They need a better air flow system to dull down the scent. All in all, these bathrooms are nice to look at and are in a good place, but a few changes are needed.
SECOND PLACE
In second place are the new Community Commons bathrooms. They have a clean, bright design with modern finishes, including the sinks. They’re very big, with six stalls, and are gender neutral. The only negative…the toilet paper. I don’t know who decided on little tissue squares, but it was a bad idea. They can’t even last a full day, leaving the stalls empty. “ I would change the toilet paper,” sophomore Isabela Tippner said, “because it’s smaller than a tissue doesn’t absorb anything. I don’t know why we decided to be too bougie for standard toilet paper.” They are centrally located between the library and cafeteria, which is super convenient. All in all, aside from the toilet paper, the Community Commons bathrooms are very nice, accessible, and modern.
FIRST PLACE
The best bathrooms on campus are easily the CT bathrooms. With three stalls and a clean, modern design, the bathrooms never fail to feel clean and comfortable. Every stall has two huge rolls of toilet paper, so you never have to worry about running out. There are two sinks, two soap dispensers, and two paper towel dispensers, so nobody has to worry about waiting. There is a lot of lighting, along with a clean, bright design throughout, making the whole bathroom feel clean.
Throughout the year, more articles like this will be published in the KO News, discussing different things around campus. Keep an eye out!
