Students have expressed their concern about the laundry-to-student ratio, safety issues and lack of accountability amongst residents regarding removing their clothes in a timely manner.
The four campus residence halls house 580 students, and there are fewer than eight washers and dryers per building.
The West Village apartments on campus house roughly 230 students; its laundry room features four washers and five dryers. Because of the uneven student-to-machine ratio, some students consider it a challenge to find time to wash during the day.
“I have late practices, and the washers are full by eight,” said senior business major and football player Jay Reed. “I have to wash around twelve or one o’clock at night or eight in the morning.”
West Village residents have also reported suspicious activity in the area and that their clothes have been stolen on multiple occasions.
“My laundry was stolen, but nothing came of it. They couldn’t find out who it was,” senior biology major Grace Pavelka said. “I didn’t have renter’s insurance, so I couldn’t get any money back from the things that were stolen.”
While these concerns highlight the challenges students face, some, like sophomore biology major Lilian Breaux, believe that implementing a structured system could offer a solution.
Breaux lives in Elizabeth Hall and has not experienced any issues washing her clothes, but she does suggest creating a system. She transferred from another school that kept a white board in their laundry room. Residents could log the time they put their clothes in, leave their phone and room numbers if they needed to be contacted and resident assistants could remove clothes for the next person if needed.
Pavelka also suggested that laundry facilities should be accessible by student IDs rather than keys so administration or security can see who has been in the building. She feels this would help with identifying who may be responsible for any issues that may arise in the future.
While Breaux and Pavelka’s proposed system could help improve the experience in older dorms, newer living spaces like The Rosedale apartments already offer the amenities on-campus that students are requesting.
The Rosedale, built in 2022, is a modern apartment complex located just across the street from campus. It offers both one-bedroom and two-bedroom floor plans, each featuring in-unit washer and dryers.
“I’m a wrestler so that’s one of the reasons why I chose The Rosedale,” freshman finance major Abigail Fonseca said. “It has a kitchen, and I have access to the laundry services—it’s perfect.”
Fonseca also mentioned that the on-site maintenance team conducts weekly inspections to ensure the amenities are in top condition.
Their experiences highlight the different living options offered on campus. Addressing the accessibility and accountability issues in the residence halls could assist in improving student life, whether through short-term solutions like a logging system or long-term investments in campus facilities.