As students pile into the Blue Valley Southwest’s gym everyday, a distinct stench can be smelled by everyone. From early morning to late afternoon, the odd odor lurks around the gym and near the cafeteria. But just what is the smell, and what’s causing it?
“It’s something in the sewage system called a trap,” Assistant Principal Gary Howard said. “The trap has a water filter; when the water dries out it gives off that smell. The custodians then have to pour more water in it to fix it.”
In other words this trap keeps the sewer gases out of the building.  When the water in the trap dries out, the gasses get in. While the problem is a quick fix, students still have to deal with it when the smell comes back.
“Its terrible,” sophomore Lauren Tobin said. “The commons smell too. I don’t know why, but it needs to get fixed somehow.”
But others disagree on where the smell is most predominant.
“The gym doesn’t smell, it’s the hallways,” freshman DJ Morgan said. “They smell like the sewer system.”
With so many students complaining about the smell, what can the students themselves do to fix the problem?
“Let the staff know, because they can get someone to fix the problem,” Howard said.
Though the problem can be temporarily resolved, most students are curious as to whether the problem will ever be permanently fixed.
“We hope to have it resolved,but occasionally, it will happen,” Howard said.
“It’s a small thing that is not uncommon in high schools. I came from Blue Valley West and we had the same problem there.”
But not all students are in agreement with Howard.
“It’s a big problem,” sophomore Aaron Rodgers said “It smells terrible every time I go near it. I can smell it from the lunch room and it ruins my appetite.”
While the odds are that the smell will show up from time to time, Southwest students will at least know what the odor is.