Before Aggies walk across the stage and eagerly receive their diploma, they will spend time reaching for toilet paper in the various restrooms across campus. Some of these restrooms are worth your time. Others … not so much.

I believe it is my duty as a student who has frequented various restrooms across campus to grade these restrooms accordingly. We pay a large sum of money to attend Texas A&M and allocate a vast amount of time on campus. We deserve to know which restrooms on campus are most worth visiting.

I’ll grade A&M’s public restrooms based on their cleanliness, accessibility and traffic. There are three points to address. One, I will grade public restrooms, not family/all-gender restrooms. It should go without saying that most, if not all of these restrooms, would grade superior to public restrooms on campus. Two, I will grade the most commonly used restrooms among all Aggies, current students and former students alike. This means no specific department buildings, dormitories or dining halls. Three, this list pertains to only men’s restrooms. Sorry ladies.

Memorial Student Center (MSC) Restrooms 4/5

Built and dedicated on Aggie Muster day over 70 years ago, the Memorial Student Center, or MSC, honors the Aggies who died in previous wars. The building also offers a wide variety in the quality of restrooms.

For example, the restroom on the main level nearest the ramp to the food court is messy and claustrophobic. Students abuse this restroom the most, resulting in waits for an available toilet, empty soap dispensers and trash cans filled to the brim with paper towels. I’m not a fan of an elongated restroom sink if it’s conjoined at the corners to form an L-shape, especially if such a construction choice is small and results in the bumping of elbows and the awkward reach across the sink for soap.

Fortunately, there is another option on the MSC’s main level that provides restroom-goers with a far better experience. Located near the building’s printers and hall closest to Kyle Field, this restroom holds 10 stalls and has two adjacent doors to separate people from entering and exiting. The latter factor alone improves foot traffic and accessibility.

If you plan on doing your business in the MSC, consider traversing to the lower level or the second level, specifically the west wing restroom. The climb is worth it considering this restroom is clean, has well-spaced sinks and is almost always empty. This restroom truly serves as a peaceful escape.

Rudder Tower 3/5

Rudder Tower is a unique building on campus that holds the MSC Box office, conference space, Rudder Theatre, Rudder Auditorium, the University Club and some inconvenient bathrooms. 

The restrooms on floors 3-10 feel cramped due to their low ceilings and dim lighting. They’re often not clean due to their constant abuse by students hosting meetings and conferences throughout the day. 

The restrooms outside Rudder Theatre and Rudder Auditorium are better since they are clean and contain more stalls, but there is still little space between the sinks and the stalls. Also, you must beware of nights when hundreds of patrons flood the lobbies and bathrooms before, during and after a performance. With restrooms only on the first and third floor outside the auditorium, lines for the restroom can extend into the lobby.

Go to Rudder for the tours, the history and the performances, but not if you need to use the restroom in a hurry.

Evans Library 3/5

The first two floors tend to be pretty busy. This is true of both study space and restroom use. The restroom experience improves when you climb beyond the second floor, where the restrooms are cleaner, more convenient and more private. A downside of the restrooms on the third and fourth floors nearest the elevators are the lengthy, narrow halls leading to the stalls and sinks. The tight stretch makes the restroom not so accessibility-friendly. One benefactor is the hands-free door opener to use after freshly washing your hands. The good doesn’t make up for the restrooms’ most fatal flaw.

Evans Library was constructed well before the Americans Disabilities Act was signed into law. Unfortunately, I think this shows in the little renovation the building’s restrooms have received and the little-to-no accessibility offered in its restrooms. 

Best of the Best: Innovative Learning Classroom Building (ILCB) 5/5

This should come as no surprise. One of the most newly constructed buildings on campus, the ILCB provides students with everything they could ever ask for in a public restroom. The restrooms are all located conveniently close to the elevator and stairs. The building’s architect had accessibility in mind when constructing the architectural feat that is the ILCB. Pristine and absolutely spotless, students can enjoy using this gargantuan, clean restroom without bumping into another person zipping their fly or waiting for a stall on even the busiest of school days. I have never had a bad experience using this restroom and neither will you.

Honorable Mention: Medical Sciences Library 5/5

If you ever have the opportunity of using the restrooms on the first floor of the medical sciences library on west campus, do so. These restrooms are clean, receive little foot traffic and provide you the option of drying your hands with paper towels or a Dyson HUO2 air blade V2. This building is a little out of the way for most folks, so only use this restroom if it’s convenient for you.

Honorable Mention: Academic Building 5/5

If you know, you know. Former students and current students have kept this location secret to reduce foot traffic and keep the restroom with a view of campus to themselves. I respect the hustle, but Aggies help Aggies. Go to the third floor and enjoy a scenic view of campus under utmost privacy.