Females experience discrimination on several fronts. They make an average of 75 cents for every dollar men make and are heavily underrepresented in government. But there is one kind of discrimination many don’t realize, even those women experiencing it. This discrimination comes in the form of bathroom lines.All women know going to the bathroom in public places means waiting in line. For all the guys who don’t know about this issue, ask any friendly female, and she will tell you: Women are often well practiced in the art of hovering over the toilet seat or the art of making toilet paper seat covers. Some women have even trained their bladders for high endurance holding.These bathroom lines can range from waiting for the next open stall to waiting in a line that flows out of the bathroom. Airports, sports arenas and movie theaters are places where women expect a long line to take a leak. God forbid if someone has the runs.It’s easy to see why the women’s bathroom line is so long. Women must secure themselves into stalls, shed clothing and properly clean themselves before leaving the cubical — taking twice the amount of time men do. Because of the persistent wait to use the restroom, women are more likely to get urinary-tract infections — which ironically make the need to use the restroom more urgent. But waiting in line for the bathroom may become a thing of the past.About half the states and some separate cities now have laws dictating the ratio of women’s restroom fixtures to be higher than men’s. Nicknamed “potty parity” laws, they insist on equal wait times for men and women’s bathrooms.New York City passed a “potty parity” law in 2005 requiring all new and significantly renovated public buildings to have two women’s toilet fixtures for every men’s fixture attribution. The law is finally coming to fruition. The new Yankee Stadium and Citi Field have ordered a combined 15,00 toilet fixtures to increase their restrooms, and both are following the two-to-one ratio. Chicago’s Soldier Field went too far with it’s women-to-men toilet ratio. Men started finding themselves in the unusual predicament of waiting in line. Some men immaturely showed their frustration by cutting the line or entering through exits. Yankee Stadium and other expanding arenas are huge successes for the “potty parity” movement, but it’s not enough. Similar toilet ratios should be issued nationally. Something along the lines of “Potty Police” should be responsible for random bathroom checks. Items like toilet paper, paper towels and soap can be checked for availability. Wait time can be recorded along with the percent of lockable stalls and general cleanliness.The University would benefit from this kind of service. At least one ladies restroom on campus has no waste bin for feminine sanitary products. It’s disgusting, not to mention embarrassing, to carry a used tampon outside the stall. There are also small lines in most centrally located bathrooms at the University, which may cause girls to be late for class.Alternative urinating apparatuses are available. These apparatuses are usually funnel shaped and fit into an unzipped fly for easy excretion of waste while standing.This is good for a dirty toilet but doesn’t magically send the user to the front of the bathroom line.The opportunity to correct inequality is here. It’s time for women to make a stand against gender discrimination.Demand equal bathroom waiting times.Isabel Blum is a 21-year-old communication disorders junior from New Orleans.– – – -Contact Isabel Blum at [email protected]