by Aliza Kilburn and Strong Sims, staff writers
For years, the bathrooms at Galileo High School have been a hot topic of discussion among students, teachers, and staff alike. The bathrooms are known for their rancid stench, wet floors, and unclean surfaces. Students habitually avoid the school bathrooms because of how bad they are. Galileo’s new principal, Peter Avila, is determined to make a change and put an end to the madness of the school bathrooms.
Mr. Avila was appointed principal at Galileo this year after 25+ years of working in underprivileged schools across the state. During an interview with the Galileo Press, Avila stated that his first impression of the school was that “It was huge, and it was very dirty.” He aims to improve the school’s sense of community by having more events and activities, in hopes that students will take pride in Galileo and not deface it – especially the bathrooms.
“I was very concerned about why students were doing that on campus. It kinda told me that maybe they haven’t taken pride in this school, or haven’t felt connected to the school in some way,” Avila explained during the interview. “This is a shared space, we all have to be here together, so what can we do collectively to make it as enjoyable and positive as possible for everybody?”
The principal believes that changing the school for the better is possible, but can’t be done without hard work and restoring the sense of community at Galileo, which will take a few years to fully develop. In the meantime, it’s important for us as a community to take small steps towards improving our school environment – starting with the bathrooms.
