Let’s be honest, the restrooms are some of the most unappealing places in any high school, or for that matter, in any public place. This is especially true of the dark and windowless restrooms at Tyrone Middle and High School.

But last month, someone, whether it was a teacher, student or staff member is unknown, did something unexpected to brighten up a restroom in the Tyrone Middle School. 

They secretly installed a fully stocked set of shelves in a girls’ restroom that contained free toiletries and other products including dental floss, lotions, feminine hygiene products, and even scented hand soap.

Inspired by this anonymous random act of kindness in the middle school,  Aevidum adviser Tiffany Johannides and club member Olivia Watson decided to bring this idea to the high school.

They first compiled a list of items to put in the high school restrooms and then got to work collecting donations and purchasing products.

“The goal is to brighten our students school days with some perfume and lotion or to simply offer supplies a student may not have access to at home,” said Johannides, “In addition, we thought it would be nice for students to be able to freshen up after PE class. We supplied gum, candy and mints for a little pick me up. We certainly hope the female students appreciate our attempt to spread the message of Aevidum through care and kindness, and use the products wisely so we can continue to provide this worthwhile service.”

The shelves are located in the bathrooms across from the high school main office. On a rotating basis, the following items can be found: gum/mints, floss, perfume, hair products, hand lotion, and feminine hygiene products.

So far the results of this experiment in kindness and respect have been mixed.

The items placed in the girls room have generally been treated with respect, and are being taken on an as-needed basis.  However, the shelf installed in the boys bathroom lasted only two days before it was empty and partially vandalized.

“I was thinking that the shelf with items would either get vandalized or stolen but I was hoping it wouldn’t. Turns out it was in fact raided by a couple ¨bad apples,¨ said senior Aevidum member Brandon Ixtepan-Ramirez.

If the project continues to show success in the girls restroom, items will be restocked by Aevidum and more items may be added to the shelves. Another shelf will be added to the girls restroom near Mr. Cammarata’s room in the near future.

If the shelf in the boys room cannot be kept intact and continues to be vandalized, the program will be ended in those restrooms.

“I think the bathroom project is a great way to help students who need a refreshing or are not able to access those hygiene products at home,” said senior Aevidum member Brooke Welsh.

“The word Aevidum means “I’ve got your back” and inspires schools to adopt a culture of care and community.  It’s this mindset of care and community that has inspired this project.

The students on the Aevidum Bathroom Committee are Brandon Ixtepan-Ramirez, Andrew Ferguson, Hannah Gampe, Lindsey Walk, Kayla Michenfelder, Sydney Novak, Jenna Weaver, Lillian Wise, and is managed by senior Olivia Watson.