When nature calls, the porcelain pantheon is not just a place for relief, but one of respite from the chaos and hustle of the day. However, when that washroom is public, the experience can range from fantastic, to funny, to horror show.
As a public service to Santa Rosa Junior College, students and correspondents collaborated to find the bathrooms with the best ambience, amenities and location on the Santa Rosa Campus — or the lack thereof for future avoidance. Out of 10 reviewed student buildings, we picked six for their unique and stand-out environment.
Most Sterile: Race
Ambience: 4/5
Amenities: 4/5
Location: 3/5
The William Race Health Sciences Building is home to some of SRJC’s best bathrooms on each of its four floors. Built with a medical appearance, the bathrooms feel pristine. The nearby water fountains are ice cold, offering a refreshing way to work toward your next visit. It’s a shame that such modern bathrooms are located on the edge of campus and out of range for non-health science students.
Modern Magnificence: STEM
Ambience: 4/5
Amenities: 4/5
Location: 4/5
The spacious first floor bathroom in the Lindley STEM Building feels more suited for a spa than a college campus. The stalls are well proportioned and offer ample privacy. Aesthetically, it may be the most beautiful bathroom on campus.
The cool, grey walls not only complement the bluish glass tiles behind the mirrors, but also make for a calming atmosphere. These bathrooms are particularly great because they offer accessible gender neutral facilities on the first floor, along with men’s and women’s bathrooms.
“It’s clear the designers of this bathroom had the psychological experience that accompanies relief in mind,” Oak Leaf editor Michael Combs said.
Best Sense of Community: Emeritus
Ambience: 3/5
Amenities: 2/5
Location: 2/5
Emeritus Hall’s first-floor women’s bathroom may not look like much, with dull tan tile walls and dim lighting. However, it compensates for its drab decor and stalls with its welcoming atmosphere.
Students placed a miniature set of drawers in it, filling them with supplies like pregnancy tests and quarters for the feminine hygiene dispenser.
Whoever first left the drawers also left a note that other women have since added to, sharing support and gratitude for each other. What makes for better ambience than a sense of community?
The men’s bathroom at Emeritus feels starkly different without such a sense of community. The layout is dated, with a wall of urinals with no privacy panels. Compared to other bathrooms, Emeritus has no-frills facilities designed for high traffic.
“It’s a workhorse of a bathroom,” said Jacob Slone, an SRJC alum.
“Drowning in antiquity. My favorite place to go,” said Mark Fernquest, a teacher’s assistant at the Oak Leaf.
Most Chaotic: Analy Hall
Ambience: 3/5
Amenities: 2/5
Location: 2/5
Wide, tall windows allow natural light to pour into the first-floor women’s bathroom of Analy Hall, making it one of the best lit and well-ventilated bathrooms on campus. The dark, wood-grain paneling of the stalls complements the natural lighting and spacious, towering ceilings.
Unfortunately, it’s situated next to one of the entrances, which means it gets a lot of foot traffic. While more conveniently located than the second floor men’s bathroom, it doesn’t make for the most private bathroom experience.
“They leave the bathroom door open; I feel like I’m peeing in the hallway,” Oak Leaf co-Editor-in-Chief Emelle Raschein said.
A flight of stairs or elevator ride up into Analy, the men’s bathroom is chaotic yet energetic. Etched mirrors showcase the bygone rebels of classes past. Reflected in them is a hasty coat of white which hardly obscures the artistic freedoms unprompted by lecture, with more writing and cartooning than any other bathroom on campus.
For a building dedicated to art, vandalism is predictable.
For the structure of a college campus: unbecoming.
For someone wanting to read while on the toilet: entertaining.
Worst Ergonomics: Maggini
Ambience: 1/5
Amenities: 1/5
Location: 2/5
The bathrooms on the first floor of Maggini Hall are clean, but that doesn’t make up for their explicitly gendered construction. Unlike the neighboring men’s bathroom, the women’s bathroom unfortunately doesn’t have a shelf conveniently located near the entrance.
The black-and-white tile trim of the men’s room was also recolored to pink and white in the women’s room, helpfully reminding anyone who enters it that they’re a woman. If you want to be condescended to by the floor while you pee, this is the bathroom for you.
Although equipped with a shelf at the entrance, the men’s bathroom at Maggini is narrow compared to other bathrooms at SRJC. The stalls are cramped and cumbersome to enter properly, making the entire experience claustrophobic and uncomfortable.
Best Amenities: Kunde
Ambience: 5/5
Amenities: 6/5
Location: 3/5
Kunde Hall’s bathrooms are some of the best SRJC has to offer. Located on the second floor next to the elevator entrance, the bathrooms are both accessible and rarely busy.
Their toilets have water-saving flush options, a unique and much appreciated feature.
The white tile walls and dark gray floor may be basic, but they aren’t outright ugly. Unlike most of the other bathrooms we visited, Kunde’s earned its spot for more than what’s inside them.
Just outside its doors are two vending machines and a water fountain. If you need to use the bathroom and are also peckish or thirsty, Kunde Hall is a prime choice.
“An efficient bathroom that will satisfy even the most math obsessed student,” Combs said.
A Welcoming Retreat: Bertolini Student Center
Ambience: 6/5
Amenities: 5/5
Location: 2/5
On the third floor of the Bertolini Student Center, next to the Disability Resources Department, the plethora of bathroom options include a gender-neutral bathroom with a needle disposal for hormone shots.
The green-and-blue tiling feels outdated, but this proves to be one of the quietest and cleanest bathrooms on campus, complete with a water fountain outside. The only issue is its location: The third floor isn’t particularly convenient.
Additional reporting by Kevin Ortega and Juan Padilla
