The final flush

Today, we join our spiritual predecessor Larry Bacow and come out of retirement. Just as Larry left in search of a better life, today we too say our goodbyes. We hope, however, to leave one nugget of our wisdom behind.

For our final flush, we will reveal undeniably the greatest bathroom on Tufts’ campus.

We found this bathroom long ago but have been reticent to divulge its whereabouts to the larger community lest we lose it for ourselves. But today, as we prepare to say goodbye to our dear old Brown and Blue — or should we say Brown and Yellow — we open the floodgates to the swarms of students and parents who will descend upon this holy site in search of an ounce of privacy on this overenrolled, under-dormed campus.

This lavatorial nirvana finds itself in the unlikeliest of places: the Michael wing of Pearson

Charles’ passion for literature and research is reflected in her application process for the Wendell Phillips Award. During this time, Charles read a collection of works centered around the college experience, simultaneously taking notes that would later inform part of her application.

“I was reading these books … and I was finding an amalgamation of all the things that I was experiencing, seeing, feeling, all the emotions,” Charles said.

The application for the Wendell Phillips Award included a letter of intent, a resume and a recorded speech. After submitting her application, it was reviewed by the Committee on Student Life. At the start of spring break, Charles was notified that she was one of the four finalists selected for the award. Coincidentally, Charles knew of, or knew personally, the other three finalists.

“That was Fatima Lawan, who is one of my really good friends and we also have the same birthday; … Jaden Pena, our student body president; and Mark Lannnigan, who I actually lived right across the hall from in Miller Hall,” Charles said.

Two days after the four finalists presented their 10-minute speeches at an open forum in Goddard Chapel, Charles received a call notifying her that she had been selected as the Wendell Phillips Award 2023 recipient.

“Immediately, I called my parents, I called my brother and then my grandma as well, my aunts, uncles,” Charles said. “I have a very big family and we’re very close, so it was super super exciting, and I just remember that being such a very joyful moment.”

Hall. If you’ve read our first article on the bathrooms of the Michael wing, you’ll know that every floor is judged by its proximity to the “level of discharge,” which is the basement. However, our favorite “level of discharge” is in fact all the way upstairs.

After climbing the seemingly interminable steps, a bathroom-goer spots a sign of impending relief: a bright red sign printed simply with the word “RESTROOM.” After yet another set of stairs, he is greeted by two Fenway Parkgreen doors, neither of which are identified as bathrooms except for the small rotating indicator on one of them reading “VACANT.”

In fact, the only reason we knew that the other door held a bathroom was that the door was flung wide open — or as open as it could get. See, dear reader, this bathroom’s door serves a dual purpose. When it is in the closed position, it is a standard bathroom door. When it is in the open position, however, it serves as a door to the sink section of the bathroom.

The fact that the sink has three walls surrounding it as well as

While writing her speech, Charles was inspired by Wendell Phillips, the 19th century abolitionist and advocate for Native Americans, to write about the importance of community.

“I emphasize in my speech … the importance of community, and the importance of that to my Tufts experience and also to the experience of other people in my communities at Tufts,” Charles said. “We’ve dealt with a lot of heavy-duty things, and I think that the ability to come together as a community to support one another has been … so instrumental to our own sense of grounding.”

Charles also explained that in her speech, she reflects upon the importance of civic engagement and of helping others.

“I really wanted to articulate … the importance, also, of our civic engagement … and how Tufts students have been helping other people throughout our Tufts experience,” Charles said. “We need to continue to do that as we go out into the world.”

Charles said that she sees every day how passionate and excited people are to be able to make some kind of change in the world. The message of Charles’ speech is that in order to create change, we have to come together as a community and understand others’ stories.

“Everyone has a different story. … We must also have the ability to listen and to advocate for other people and to also understand other people’s stories alongside our own story,” Charles said. “There is so much more emphasis, so much more depth, so much more strength when we all come together to try to create change.” a makeshift door suggests that the architect of this bathroom (the eponymous Michael?) may have been a member of the movement of people who propose using the sink for urination as a means of saving water.

The bathrooms are illuminated by such an eclectic array of light fixtures that they must have been built either with no electrical planning at all or with a level of care unsurpassed in all of Tufts architecture (except, of course, the blessed soul who made the echo spot).

The only potentially more carefully planned detail of these bathrooms is the waiting area (read: hallway) outside them. Specifically, the tiling is exquisitely done. Amid a sea of captivating gray tiles artfully splotched with white paint from the walls, sits an 8×4 oasis of blue. This is not a uniform blue but rather contains a variety of blue tiles laid down in a pattern whose meaning we have yet to discern. However, they somehow point to the two missing tiles that lie ahead, a gentle reminder that, even at our best, there is always room to improve.

The sinks, toilets and soap were all fine.

From her own personal experience at Tufts, Charles said that one of the things she has learned is that members of communities are built to provide mutual support for each other.

“Whether that is through the groups that I’m a part of, or through my closest friends … something that I’m definitely going to take away is the importance of leaning on your people, leaning on your community when you need to, and also being there for them as they need to lean on you,” Charles said.

Charles added that her family has been very supportive during her college experience.

“I would not have been able to go through the four years

Before we sign off, we’d like to pay homage to three bathrooms we’ll miss most. These three spaces hold some of our most cherished memories from our four years here, and we look forward to returning to them whenever we visit campus.

1. Tisch second floor: A student favorite, these bathrooms are a great place to study, kick back with friends and have awkward encounters.

2. Lane Hall downstairs: Just because the showers don’t work doesn’t mean this isn’t a great place for an aspirational shower! Also, the bar soap we spotted there in October 2021 was still there earlier this semester, which is a win for those of us who might forget to plan ahead!

3. Bathrooms in the new locker rooms in the gym: Even though we don’t remember where the gym is, we’ve heard these are super nice and probably means that the administration cares a little bit about (athletic [read: conventionally attractive]) students.

To us, talking potty means more than simple lavatorial description, it means experi - without the support of my family,” Charles said. “I’ve been so incredibly blessed to be a part of such an incredible group of people. … They’ve been such great role models.”

Through writing the Wendell Phillips Award speech, Charles has been able to reflect on how she, as an individual who is a part of a community, can contribute to some type of change in the world.

“It’s just such an honor,” Charles said. “I’m so incredibly grateful and blessed to be able to give this speech and to be able to reflect on what I’ve seen and what I’ve experienced and also the ways in which the students all around … have done all the good work that they have.” encing the school we love at its most vulnerable. We go where others would not and discover truths about the school that today becomes our alma mater. Along the way, we’ve been asked if we “need any help” more times than we can count, been looked at uncomfortably for leaving the single stalls together and — when we asked to take a peek (leak?) inside Gifford House — been told by Executive Director of Media Relations Patrick Collins in an email, “Unfortunately, we’re unable to facilitate your request – I hope you understand.”

Pearson Hall, Michael Wing, all the way up: 9.5/10. Privacy and whimsy take the (urinal) cake, crowning this otherwise pedestrian bathroom as Tufts’s finest, or at least its quirkiest. With empty bowels and heavy hearts, The Sanitation Scorers