THE Special Sewer Scoop!

**The media below contains the opinion of an individual student and therefore does not represent or speak to the values of Vestavia Hills High School and Vestavia Hills City Schools**

Even before it erupted, rumors were leaking. On February the 19th, it was odd enough coming back to school on a Wednesday, and even weirder that students couldn’t use the bathrooms on the 2nd floor. People speculated- was it what happened over the weekend? Or was it the accumulation of long-neglected bathroom problems?

By the end of the day, Dr. Inabinet announced that the school would close the next day to fix the plumbing issues. Teachers quickly got to work, scheduling Zoom meetings, recording video lectures, and creating online assignments. The E-learning days accumulated into a 5-day weekend that was reminiscent of COVID, but with less social distancing and masks.

Students had various opinions about the situation. Some were glad to get an extra break, but some were nervous about the plumbing infrastructure and the missed days. Ron Rusanov, a junior, was happy initially because he “could sleep in and whatnot,” but he “felt way less productive” and “wanted to see [his] friends.” Parker Liu, a senior, thinks “it’s been very inconvenient for the school” and “we couldn’t learn as well.” He also misses the senior patio. Adi Sheelavant, a junior, described it as “a spring break before spring break!” Lily Xie, a junior, found it funny and “nice to have a bunch of e-learning days”, but she “would have rather gone to class than miss all those days” because the return was overwhelming. 

Over the weekend, the VHHS parking lot Instagram account recorded scenes of the construction and explained the situation. VHHS became a viral sensation overnight when their reels gained millions of views! The account frequently visited the senior patio and the bathrooms to film more viral content. The internet was shocked because- what are the chances of shutting down a school for malfunctioning toilets? Many students were excited about VHHS becoming viral. 

On Tuesday, February 25th, school finally reopened with a late start. When the students returned, they crowded around the senior patio to see the construction crew digging a huge trench in the ground. It didn’t feel real seeing an excavator and mounds of red dirt beneath the concrete at school. The patio was fenced off with yellow construction tape, and teachers guarded the balcony to prevent students from sneaking into the patio or throwing trash into the construction site. 

In the classrooms, teachers were anxious to catch up on the missed instruction time. They were productive over the E-learning days, but concepts needed to be reviewed in person, and tests needed to be rescheduled. Especially in AP classes, people were frantic to keep a good pace before the exams. Over the next month, we steadily recovered and adjusted to the construction crew in the senior patio. 

As of before spring break, the patio is still closed, but the trench is covered. Hopefully, we can look forward to a reopened patio and better bathrooms.