Students review the quality of bathrooms on campus — citing the Teaching Learning Complex as the No. 1 option
By KACEY CHAN — features@theaggie.org
No one loves a public bathroom. However, in times of need, these restrooms become a necessary evil. Here on the UC Davis campus, your bathroom experience will vary depending on which building you’re lucky (or not so lucky) enough to stumble upon. Students are full of opinions on what they think are the best and worst bathrooms, with reasoning spanning from privacy to the presence of terrifying chains.
In a survey conducted by The California Aggie, students almost unanimously agreed that the bathrooms in the Teaching Learning Complex (TLC) were by far the best. Located near the Silo bus terminal, the TLC bathrooms are the cleanest, most spacious and the most private, according to students.
“I love that you can tell when someone is inside or not,” Brenda Do, a third-year design major, said. “The doors cover the stall completely so there aren’t any gaps and the stalls are super roomy.”
Other surveyed students agreed with this sentiment. A few also reported the gender-neutral bathrooms in the TLC are a huge plus.
Another noteworthy bathroom is the one in Cruess Hall. In a TikTok post by user @treebeatle, the UC Davis student gives the bathroom a rating of “8/10” — respectable given the fact that it is the only positive score in the post.
The lovely decor of the bathroom should be noted, according to students. In the TikTok post, @treebeatle mentions the uplifting stickers on the walls, including one which says “Be-YOU-tiful.”
“I love the easter eggs in the bathroom, especially the mirrors,” Do added. “It’s a fun walk to the bathroom because of the easter eggs all around.”
Student opinion appears to be more divided on the worst bathroom on campus. From the survey, a common response was the toilet in Haring Hall. Melissa Soria, a third-year psychology major, responded in the survey that “it gives creepy bathroom vibes all the way.” Similarly, in another TikTok post by @treebeatle, the user gave this location a rating of “-3/10.”
“Immediately no,” the caption reads. “How much am I paying for tuition again?”
Another popular answer, for all the wrong reasons, was the bathroom on the ground floor of Veihmeyer Hall. Located along Sprocket Bikeway, many students chose this location as the absolute worst on campus.
“The stairs […] when you open the door and the green tiling make the bathroom feel very ominous,” Angeline Gatchalian, a second-year chemistry major, wrote in the survey.
Multiple students also reported the odd and unusual inclusion of a shower in a lecture hall’s bathroom.
Perhaps most startling of all was the bathroom located in Hutchison Hall. Infamous amongst students, this toilet features a mysterious, dilapidated bed and mattress in a room behind the sinks. On the r/UCDavis Reddit forum, multiple students noted the questionable chain attached to it. In a post from @treebeatle, the student gives the bathroom a rating of “1/10.” The caption tags the official UC Davis TikTok account. It reads, “still waiting on an explanation for the bed and chains” — a question that many students seem to also have in mind.
Lecture halls and other spaces that see a lot of foot traffic also received criticism from students. The Shields Library bathrooms in particular were named often in the survey.
“The second-floor women’s toilet is always smelly, dirty and not very accessible,” Skye, a third-year psychology major, reported in the survey.
Similarly, another student reported that the third-floor bathroom only has one working stall.
Olson Hall and Wellman Hall were also criticized.
“Wellman and Olson are always dark, dirty and wet,” Do commented in her survey response.
A criticism of the former in particular seems to be the lack of privacy, which, according to a comment from user @KarlaFung on the UC Davis Local Wiki page for campus bathrooms, involves “stalls almost touching the toilet itself.”
“You could easily injure yourself somehow in there,” the comment reads.
With its long history since 1908, the UC Davis campus is bound to feature a variety of lecture halls and their bathrooms. These recommendations (and warnings) can hopefully steer students toward cleaner and more appealing locations for a toilet break.
For those interested in even more toilet talk, the Davis Local Wiki features a detailed list of bathroom reviews both on and off campus.
Written by: Kacey Chan — features@theaggie.org
