Welcoming change for male students and janitors

A men’s bathroom has been installed on the 1st floor of the Central Library on Jan. 10. Made up of a single cubicle, the men’s bathroom is located in front of the Audio Visual Room. It was built in the corner of the existing women’s bathroom and is separated from the rest of the space by a newly installed inner door. 
Hugo Daniel Pichon, a male exchange student from France, was pleased to know that a men’s bathroom had been installed on the 1st floor of the library. Last semester, he experienced inconvenience when he spent his weekends studying in the Central Library due to the absence of a men’s bathroom on the 1st and the basement floor. This is because the library closes the 2nd to 5th floor at nighttime and on the weekends, leaving access to only the two floors without a men’s bathroom.
“It was annoying because I had to go outside to find a bathroom in another building,” Pichon revealed. “It was really bothersome.”
Not only male exchange students but also male janitors working in the Central Library also experienced difficulties due to the absence of a men’s bathroom on the 1st or the basement floor. Lee Moon-won, a janitor of the Central Library, works night shifts from 10 p.m. to 00:30 a.m. the following day. Before the installation of the new men’s bathroom on the 1st floor, he had to use his keys to get into the men’s bathroom on the 3rd floor of the library when he neededto use the bathroom during his night shifts.
“As my night shift was only for two hours and a half and going to the 3rd floor didn’t really interfere with my work, I never made an official complaint to the library about it,” Lee said. “Still, it was rather inconvenient when I needed to use the bathroom.”
It was not only during the nights or the weekends, when access of the 2nd to 5th floor of the library are prohibited, that male janitors used to be inconvenienced. When Lee was working during the daytime at the west entrance (the entrance on the 1st floor), he preferred to exit the library building in order to go to the men’s bathroom in Helen Hall, which was closer than the one on the 3rd floor of the library.
In response to such situations, the Central Library began to discuss the installation of a men’s bathroom either on the 1st or the basement floor since the spring semester of 2015.  Actual construction work began on Dec. 20, 2015, during the winter vacation.
“As some male students began to use the library during the nighttimes and weekends when the 2nd to 5th floor is closed, we wanted to satisfy their needs by installing a men’s bathroom where it can be more accessible,” said an official from the Central Library. 
Although the library is not yet planning to install more men’s bathrooms on the 1st or the basement floor, it is ready to build more if demand for more men’s bathroom arises.
The installation of the new men’s bathroom has received positive feedback from male students and janitors of the library. Lee feels that the night time work environment has been improved thanks to the change. Pichon is also satisfied with the new facility.
“I think it was a very good decision on the library’s part to install the new men’s bathroom,” Pichon said. “I can now go to the library more often now.”

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