The Kennedy School Men’s Bathroom Review
by Kobina Aidoo on December 6, 2006 in Culture
Gone are the days when a bathroom was just a place to go. These days a bathroom is a place where you gather your thoughts in the middle of the day, a place to take a few minutes off the clock, a place to groom, a place to get in touch with yourself. There are tens of bathrooms around the John F. Kennedy School of Government but there are bathrooms and then there are bathrooms. You go through a lot of stress here and the least you deserve is to go in style.
First, a caveat: this article is being written by a man so it only covers the men’s bathrooms. The Citizen challenges a female investigative journalist to cover the women’s side of things.
LITTAUER
Ground floor: Always crowded, always untidy. They pretty much let anybody in here: MPPs, MPAs, Fellows, PhDs, Execs and even mid-careers. If you can avoid it, do so. They clean it quite frequently but it’s never enough. I guess it does serve a purpose if your goal is just to get in, do your thing and get out between classes. (1.5 stars)
Outside Dean Ellwood’s office (3rd floor): The only striking thing about this one is that there’s a sign strongly urging you to keep the place neat and clean. Now, you’ll be ill-advised to take this urging (more like a warning) lightly because as soon as you walk out, you stare into the stern eyes of a painting of Mr. Lucius Littauer himself, ostensibly watching your every move. Behave. (3 stars)
RUBENSTEIN
Carr Center for Human Rights (2nd floor): You know how they say good architecture should blend with its environment? Well, the folks at the Carr Center have taken it to the next level with a bathroom door that you can easily mistake as being a part of the wall, with its wood paneling and all. Each time we tried to sample this one, it was locked, and we intend to file a petition for a violation of our rights to a decent place to download. (unrated)
TAUBMAN
Ground floor: For a building that also has a room by “that” name, you would expect at least a decent bathroom, and it doesn’t disappoint. What makes this bathroom stand out is the mellow lighting. It creates a nice mood for the business at hand. Of course, the best time to go is when everyone else is in class so you can take your time to enjoy the ambiance. Check it out. (4 stars)
5th floor: For my money, the best in the Kennedy School. It’s here that they fete you when you come for new admit day; you know, the fancy floor with the nice wood paneling. Well, it has a toilet to go with it. Very elegant, wallpapered, the works. It even has a map of Boston in case you’re lost. The best part, though, is that it sees very little usage. For the two hours that The Citizen staked it, only one patron came by. This makes for good, uninterrupted “meditation.” The only down side here is that it doesn’t have the infrared accoutrements, but you wouldn’t need them. Real nice. (4.5 stars)
BELFER
Altogether a bad place to have to go. It appears the architect forgot about bathrooms until much later. Bathrooms here are few and have many stairs between. Also home to the smallest bathrooms in the place. Be careful when you’re coming out of the number 2 room because you may bump into someone doing a number 1 and make quite a mess. Mr./Ms. Belfer should see this. It’s a disgrace to the Belfer name. (1 star)
CHARLES HOTEL
2nd floor: Yes, it’s totally unethical to use the hotel for such selfish purposes. Yes, it’s quite a walk. Yes, you may raise suspicion. But why not? Why not treat yourself to the best number 1 experience this side of the river. It’s big and comfortable enough for a number 1, number 2 or even number 3 (which I won’t explain here). Gold trimmings, sanitary covers, they have it all. Here, you actually feel that the future is in your hands. You could actually take your coffee in here, read the Times, do your daily Pilates, and be reinvigorated for your problem sets. (5 stars)
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