Picture this, you’ve just finished washing your hands and go to open the door to leave the bathroom. 

You turn the knob, but it does not open. Panic sets in, you can’t get out. 

Do you call for help? Or do you accept the school bathroom as your new home? 

Anna Lawson, Class of 2022, wasn’t going to settle for being locked in the All Genders bathroom forever. 

On Wednesday September 22nd at around two o’clock was when the lock in occurred.

In an interview with the bathroom lock-in survivor, Anna shared her initial thoughts about not being able to get out. 

Anna was “pretty nonchalant” and “indifferent to the situation.” It was the hall monitors that were concerned. Anna was on her way to chorus, where she knew that her absence would be easily explained, therefore being late to class wasn’t really on her mind. 

After the initial shock of being locked in, Anna sounded for help. 

Anna pounded on the door after the bell had already rung and nobody was in the hallway. The hall monitors heard her and five janitors rushed to the scene. 

One of the janitorial staff, the smallest, had to climb through a window and they had to use a ladder to get him inside. The rescuers were super nice, since they didn’t want to cause panic.

Anna described how people were yelling at her and wondering if she was thirsty. Anna Lawson described how they had to bust open the door to let her out. The rescuers insisted that she had locked the deadbolt, that Anna insisted that there was no deadbolt.

The whole ordeal took about twenty minutes. It’s hard to know the impact of the situation but Anna stated that she still uses the All Gender bathroom.

In the future, Anna will be more cautious to make sure that there is somebody to save her if she gets stuck again.  A great tip for using any school bathroom is to bring your phone to call for help if you’re in trouble. Despite her lock-in, Anna still uses the All Gender bathroom. “The All Gender bathroom is a great stride in our school for all students who need it,” stated Anna.