Paper towels, which were once an endangered species only found in the math wing, have gone extinct from Ankeny High School (AHS) bathrooms. Speculation as to why has been an age- old question, with the majority of students and staff believing that it sprang from the “Devious Lick” TikTok trend in 2021.

The trend involved students stealing items from schools, especially from the bathrooms. But how could a 5-year-old TikTok trend dictate modern-day bathroom cleanliness at Ankeny?

The answer is that it doesn’t. The “Devious Lick” trend was never to blame. Instead, it was the work of other forms of ongoing student delinquency. This led the janitorial staff to remove the paper towel dispensers themselves.

“Kids were ripping [paper towels] out of the [dispenser] and shoving them in the toilets,” AHS Associate Principal Nick Nelson explained.

This type of behavior is absolutely ridiculous and should not be taking place at AHS. This is a school that prides itself on proper manners and good behavior, seen in posters all around the school. Every student whom I have talked to regarding this issue has also agreed that this behavior is unacceptable and that the school’s response is reasonable.

AHS sophomore Dorian Austin is “disappointed” that AHS does not have paper towels for its students, but understands that “a small portion of the students were messing around [with the paper towels]… and making a mess [in the bathrooms].”

As a student myself, I want paper towels, and I want to apologize for the actions of my fellow students. I am sorry that the janitorial staff has to deal with the messes made in the bathrooms, and I am sorry that it has come to this. I hope that the rest of the student body can agree.

However, the masses should not be punished for the actions of a few. Every student at AHS is well aware that none of the hand dryers in the bathrooms are functional, and are at all capable of drying anyone’s hands with their gentle breezes, so our only other option is to dry our hands with our clothes.

While that may seem like a viable solution, drying your hands with your pants (or other articles of clothing) will leave you with up to six times more bacteria on your hands than you started with, according to The Atlantic.

Well, what if you just let them air dry? While that works well for hair, it is even more harmful for cleanliness. The Atlantic reports that damp hands are an ideal environment for bacteria and can transmit up to 1,000 times more bacteria than dry hands.

If students cannot dry their hands with the terrible hand dryers, their pants, or with the air around them, what should they do? They can bring microfiber cloths of their own to school every day!

On a serious note, who would ever actually do that? The real question here is: What can the school do for the students? Of course, they could try again with the paper towels. It is an age-old saying that if you want a child to act like an adult, you must treat them like one. While I wish that would work here, it is pretty unrealistic. So, the answer comes in better hand dryers.

Viral illnesses have only gotten worse in modern times, with Covid-19 and this year’s awful strain of influenza (believe me, I got it), so cleanliness is extremely important for student safety and for their attendance. Better hand dryers will help students stay healthy and happy without damp pants.

Austin says it best: “I just want to be clean.”