Some conversations begin with “Hey!” or “What’s up?” but when The Lantern went around asking for student opinions on the best and worst campus bathrooms, we received more than a few looks and laughs.

The answers varied, but there were some common trends. Bathrooms in newer buildings did well, while older buildings often got bad ratings. Cleanliness along with overall environment proved to be important aspects of campus bathrooms.

The GoodLauren Fletcher, a junior in exercise science, liked the Recreation and Physical Activity Center bathroom experience.

“They’re probably my favorite actually, they’re really clean. They generally smell pretty good,” she said, awarding them an 8.5 rating out of 10.

The new Scott Laboratory, with its abundance of mirrors, full set of automatic features and tasteful decoration also received good ratings.

“Probably my favorite…clean, new, everything automatic, nice set of urinals,” said Brian Beck, a freshman in industrial and systems engineering.

Fisher College of Business also did well.

“Probably the cleanest and the nicest that I’ve been in,” said Amanda Bankieris, a senior in international studies. “They have nice tile work, they’re always really clean. When you walk in, the lights automatically turn on.”

The BadThere were plenty of nominations for worst bathroom as well.

Chirag Trivedi, an economics major, expressed strong opinions about the floor-mounted urinals in Ramseyer Hall.

Trivedi said the worst bathroom he has seen is in Ramseyer Hall.

“Oh my God, that’s disgusting … you start peeing and you get splashed on your pants, I’m not even kidding.”

Jonathan Miller, a junior in electrical engineering, described the bathrooms in Caldwell Laboratory as “prison-like.”

The toilets are often backed up, the tiles in the ceiling sometimes fall down and there is graffiti all over the place, Miller said.

Several students gave Denney Hall a bad rating.

Joe Falardeau, a freshman in accounting, said compared with all public restrooms, he would rate the one on the third floor of Denney as a 3 or a 4.

“I think a bathroom should be a pleasant environment,” he said. “There’s just writing on the walls, and it’s dripping and just gross.”

For the most part students preferred new over old, and, of course, clean over dirty. Many thought that automatic toilets and sinks were a plus, but Dave Noble, a pre-graduate student in education, disagreed.

“All it takes is a little movement while you’re sitting and the thing starts flushing, if you’re not actually getting up off the toilet and they start flushing on you that’s not as pleasant,” Noble said.

Andrew Sharp can be reached at [email protected].