SLOHS’ bathrooms have new sensors. Photo courtesy of junior Bob Meyers.

Despite not being directly stated in the constitution, it is most Americans’ belief that they have a right to privacy. This is a fair assumption, as people should deserve the expectation of a reasonable amount of security from prying eyes, so when it was announced that the new bathrooms at San Luis Obispo High School were getting sensors installed that were able to detect the audio within the room, an ethics question naturally came into play.
“I think it might be a little strange to be monitoring every noise that happens in the bathroom,” said junior Grant Laity.
However, the accusation that the bathrooms listen in on conversations in the bathroom is unfounded.
“It’s like when your phone warns you that there’s a high decibel level, and it’s warning you, saying ‘this is too loud’… it doesn’t record people. There’s no way you could go back and listen to what’s happening,” said SLOHS vice principal Josh Garcia.
Even with this revelation on their function, some students still find it a bit strange.
“I think the vape detection is definitely good, because a lot of vaping happens in the bathroom. The loud noise detector is just kind of weird, but I understand the precaution,” said senior Kiana Blau.
Despite the strangeness surrounding the audio detection, the vape detection system has been very beneficial for the school.
“What we’ve heard is that students appreciate it because it actually keeps the bathroom safer…It’s not like we’ve ever had unsafe bathrooms, but it gives you a sense of safety,” said Garcia.
Some students may still argue that this level of extra surveillance violates their privacy, but there are also many new benefits to the heightened bathroom security.
“It’s helped us catch things that would be potentially hazardous in the bathroom, like THC in the air or something,” said Garcia.
THC, or Tetrahydrocannabinol, is a chemical found in marijuana and some vapes that can cause lung cancer for those inhaling it, even from secondhand smoke. This means even if students didn’t smoke anything, if they went into the bathroom after someone who did, they would be exposed to lung cancer. The new detectors help sense this and prevent it from endangering students.
So before students go echoing the ideas of a certain Orwellian novel, try to find out the simple truth behind the new bathroom sensors.