« First-year struggles and sophomore strifes | Main | Fulcrum, version 2.0 »
November 02, 2004
Laundry service shake-up on the horizon
The university’s campus laundry service contract expires next spring, and some students, citing high prices and aging equipment, hope other optionsčor other companiesčwill be considered.
“Laundry on campus is just too expensive to do every week,” said sophomore Kyle Foley.
Foley said that she now uses the odor-remover clothing spray Febreze more than she uses campus laundry services.
Patti Klein, assistant dean of students and director of residential life, and Javier Gutierrez, associate director of residential life and apartment manager, spoke recently with a representative from Mac-Gray, the company that currently provides laundry services, and, with the company, have introduced and advocated for two alternatives.
The first option is to install new equipment and increase the rate of washers and dryers to $1.00 per load per machine. The current cost is 75 cents per load.
The second option is to switch to a fixed rate of around $32.00 per student per semester, which would be added to current room and board costs. This method would allow students to have unlimited use of washers and dryers.
With the implementation of either option, there are positive and negative elements to be considered.
The first alternative offers students the choice of spending money on on-campus laundry. This is beneficial, Klein said, because “the people who use it are the people who are paying for it.”
The benefit of the flat-fee alternative is based on the assumption that students will do one load of laundry at least once a week. Thus, having a flat rate would be beneficial to those students doing their laundry at least four times per month.
This is tangible, said sophomore Bao Nguyen.
“When I do laundry each week, I separate colors. Therefore, I’ll do at least two loads a week. This flat fee would save me money.”
Another advocate of the flat fee is HIRC president Jon Guyer, who pointed out this system would keep more people on campus, ultimately creating a closer community.
However, the downside of this option is that not everyone will get their money’s worth.
CLA student Emily Fifieldsaid at the last HIRC meeting, “I don’t do laundry here at all. Thirty-two dollars isn’t that much, but why should I pay for it if I’m not using it?”
Guyer and HIRC recently distributed a survey to students living on campus regarding their use of on- and off-campus laundry facilities, and what kinds of options they would prefer.
The goal of this survey, Guyer said, is to help determine which option would be most satisfactory to the majority of students.
Survey results should be handed in to RAs by Nov. 1 and the results will be discussed Nov. 3 at the HIRC meeting. The final decision on the two options will be made by Nov. 15.
Posted by msveum at November 2, 2004 11:01 AM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)