Listening
Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
- flush out (someone/something) / flʌʃ aʊt / (phrasal v.) – to cause someone/something to come out or be revealed
Example:The new investigation flushed out significant problems within the company’s management.
- patchwork / ˈpætʃˌwɜrk / (n.) – something that consists of different things or elements
Example:The city’s building regulations are a patchwork of old and new policies that confuse construction companies.
- harassment / həˈræs mənt / (n.) – illegal behavior directed at a person that causes physical, mental, or emotional harm
Example:The company has strict policies against harassment in the workplace, which include making rude jokes or comments.
- potty / ˈpɒt i / (adj.) – relating to the use of the bathroom
Example:During the road trip, they made frequent stops at gas stations for necessary potty breaks.
- privilege / ˈprɪv ə lɪdʒ / (n.) – a special right or advantage that only some people have
Example:VIP members receive special parking privileges, so they always have a reserved spot near the entrance.
Article
Read the text below.
Starbucks’s decision to restrict its restrooms to paying customers has flushed out a wider problem: a patchwork of restroom policies that has left Americans confused and divided over who gets to use the loo and when.
Rules about restroom access in restaurants vary by state, city and county. New York requires restroom access for customers at food establishments with 20 or more seats. California requires larger restaurants to provide restrooms for customers and guests, but only if they were built after 1984. In Chicago, restaurants don’t need to have restrooms for customers unless they serve liquor.
“It’s so mishmash,” said Steven Soifer, the co-founder and treasurer of the American Restroom Association, which advocates for clean, safe and well-designed public toilets. “If (a retailer) is serving food and drink, it’s a health hazard if there isn’t a public bathroom.”
Starbucks opened the can, so to speak, when it said it was reversing a seven-year-old policy that invited anyone to hang out in its stores or use the restroom, regardless of whether they bought anything. Starbucks’s new code of conduct, which will be posted in all company-owned North American stores, also bans discrimination or harassment, consumption of outside alcohol, smoking, vaping, drug use and asking strangers for money.
Reaction to the coffee chain’s rule change for potty privileges was heated and divided. Many said Starbucks had the right to restrict restroom access to paying customers.
“I do think it’s up to Starbucks to set the atmosphere in their stores,” Paul Skinner, 76, a retired firefighter in Daytona Beach, Florida, told The Associated Press. “If they’ve decided that their paying customers are going to be better served by limiting restroom access, it doesn’t make me mad. I’m not going to stop going there.”
But Skinner said he also doesn’t mind when homeless people occasionally visit his local Starbucks, and he sometimes offers to buy them breakfast.
“I think about all the people who don’t have housing who would love to wander into a Starbucks and get warm,” he said. “Now there’s one more place they aren’t welcome.”
This article was provided by The Associated Press.
Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
- Starbucks now only allows paying customers to use the restrooms. In your country, are restrooms in stores and restaurants usually open for everyone? Do you think all businesses should offer restrooms to everyone or only to paying customers? Why do you say so? What are the pros and cons of providing restroom access to everyone? Discuss.
- How do you feel when you can’t find a public restroom or have been refused access to a restroom when you need one? What would you do if a store refused to let you use their restroom during an emergency? Discuss.
Discussion B
- Do you think businesses should help with public health issues like providing clean restroom access for homeless people? Why or why not? In what ways can businesses work with the government and organizations to help homeless people have access to clean restrooms? Discuss.
- How do you think the government can help provide clean restroom facilities for homeless people? Why are clean and well-designed public restrooms important? Discuss.
