After a hot and sweaty workout in the Herbert Center weight room, athletes often want a shower, but just assume it is not available.

“I didn’t know we had access to the showers — I was always told they weren’t working,” junior Isabella Shea said. “For the Homecoming dances and the carnivals, I would have to get ready in the bathroom after volleyball. The only way I could feel cleaner was with deodorant and brushing my hair because I thought I couldn’t shower.”

The girls locker room shower has always been open for the use of students and faculty, but students have not requested to use it, according to Strategic Design Facilitator Geoff De Santis.

“The showers were created as part of the gym for faculty and students to use if needed,” De Santis said. “Other than faculty, I haven’t heard of many circumstances in which students have asked to use the showers.”

While the shower at the Broadway campus is rarely used, the showers in locker rooms in the Dungeon at the Pine/Octavia Campus are used more frequently. Cross-country girls used the showers after their morning workout before going to Los Angeles for the Mt. SAC Cross-country Invitational.

“When we practice in the morning on the day that we’re leaving, it’s nice if the kids can clean up before going to classes, so they usually take showers at Stuart Hall,” Coach Michael Buckley said. “To utilize the showers at Broadway in the future, we could split practice so that anyone who has class on Broadway could practice there and shower there, and anyone who has class at the Pine/Octavia Campus can practice and get ready there.”

The showers on the Pine/Octavia campus are used more frequently and are regularly cleaned, unlike the Broadway campus shower that is rarely used. The lack of attention has discouraged athletes to use the shower in the Herbert Center, according to Shea.

“I trust the Stuart Hall showers because they seem to be used more often, but not the ones at Convent as much because they are never used,” Shea said. “If I had the time to shower after dances and there was a clean shower with hot water, I would have showered.”

De Santis says with regular use, the shower will be serviced nightly by janitorial staff.

The shower is available whenever the locker room in the Herbert Center is open, and De Santis encourages it to be used by students or faculty after practices or before events. If multiple people are planning to utilize the shower within a certain time period, a schedule can be created, according to De Santis.

“There are two, single-use, lockable showers and they are in the locker rooms in the Herbert Center,” De Santis said referring to one shower in each the girls and boys locker room. “I don’t see why there couldn’t be a system or a schedule created if many people wanted to use the showers.”

The shower at the Broadway campus is fully functioning, but because it has not been frequently used, there is the possibility of them needing repairs or attention, according to De Santis.

“I believe it would be best for students who have questions or concerns to check in with Mr. [Paul] Lorentz and Mr. Buckley or Ms. [Elena] De Santis,” Geoff De Santis said. “The showers have been functioning in the locker rooms without use for a while and the students and faculty are completely welcome to take advantage of them.”