Recently, there have been complaints about the dysfunctional hand dryers in the boys’ bathroom…but are they really dysfunctional? Or are the boys just lazy?

The problem has been brought to student council numerous times and has even been the focus of a student council campaign. One possible solution is upgrading to the same dryers that are in the girls’ bathrooms; and yes, the boys have different hand dryers than the girls and no, the ones in the boys’ bathrooms don’t work as well as the girls.

According to student council president Gabe Nohl, contacting the company of the new hand dryers, Dyson, is one step that has been taken towards this solution; he said student council is continuing to raise money for it. “…we are in contact with a new Dyson representative and have been given a new reduced offer for two new Dyson V-blade hand dryers,” Nohl said.

Nohl also states the obvious that no one wants to acknowledge: “The majority of people do not wash their hands.” But he thinks that installing new hand dryers in the boys’ bathroom will excite boys to wash their hands because now they have the luxury of the Dyson V-blade, and not the outdated hand dryers.

Deb Miller, the head custodian of Park High, says she can stand outside of the boys’ bathroom all day and not hear the hand dryers being used once. Miller thinks that the boys just don’t wash their hands, plain and simple, and she doesn’t see the point in buying new hand dryers if the boys don’t use the current ones.

Miller would like to go back to the good-old paper towels because maintenance for paper towels is very low compared to the current hand dryers. Miller says that the hand dryers get very dirty very quickly, especially after game nights, and she is constantly cleaning them.

Kelly Dick, an English teacher at Park High, isn’t surprised at the fact that most boys don’t wash their hands. Dick recalls his high school days at Butte High. He never had to the luxury of hand dryers, they had paper towels. And half the time, the paper towels ran out and he then would have to fling his hands around or wipe them on his pants.

“To be honest, is it so exciting to have like the “Rolls Royce” of hand dryers,” he asked. “Is everyone going to wash their hands and go in there and be like “Oh my God! I can’t believe! I mean all these people are going to be asking for bathroom passes so they can go to the bathroom and just be there like “Ahhhhhh” [over the hand dryer] It just seems so dumb to me,” he laughed.