Breaking the Silence on Broken Washers

In my freshman year, I had the privilege of living on the first floor of Williston Hall, dragging my hamper only 50 feet to the laundry room and just 90 minutes later, I’d have a heap of fresh laundry to fold.

Living on the third floor of Seelye Hall was an entirely different experience. Laundry, originally a menial, but simple task, became a stressful four-hour debacle, usually involving five separate trips down to the laundry room. First, to check if the washer was available (It usually was not, as Seelye only has one washer and one dryer for 46 residents). Second, to actually start laundry, and third, to check if the dryer was available (Again, it usually was not. The dryer usually needed two rounds to properly dry clothes, which would be around 90 minutes, and there was a long queue of people who wanted to use it). Finally, I’d be able to dry my clothes, and, 45 minutes later, haul my laundry up to my dorm (as Seelye also does not have an elevator).

Unfortunately, even this is a lost luxury. Since the beginning of the semester, either the washer or dryer has been broken, forcing students to do their laundry in other dorms. Despite countless messages in Seelye’s GroupMe, which grew increasingly exasperated each day, and emails from the Community Advisors to facilities, nothing has been done. The lack of responses from Facilities is incredibly disappointing. Not only does it reflect a failure to provide for residents’ needs, but also a broader neglect of student perspectives in residential life. This article is on behalf of my fellow residents in Seelye in hopes that our concerns will finally be addressed.

Currently, Seelye has just one washer and one (faulty) dryer, which is not sufficient for 46 residents. Since the dryer isn’t hot enough, it must be run twice, causing a huge backlog of laundry: in the time that it takes to dry clothes, two to three rounds of washing can be done, and those piles of laundry need to be dried twice as well, and it just builds up exponentially from there. Consequently, many students do not have time to do laundry on weekdays, which only worsens the situation on weekends. It’s hard to make plans with friends,  or even to concentrate on studying, when students have to constantly check on machines for availability.

With so many people using the same washer and dryer, these machines are prone to breakage. If all 46 students do laundry on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, then the washer needs to run 10 hours a day (if each student were to only do one load, which takes around 30-40 minutes). The dryer would need to run almost double. Although this might be an overestimation, since laundry is such a lengthy process, many students save all of it for the weekend,  overloading machines and increasing their susceptibility to breaking.

Surprisingly enough, both the dryer and washer have broken multiple times this semester alone. I’ve probably only done laundry in Seelye only three times. About a week into the semester, the dryer door didn’t close. When Facilities was notified, the only response we received was that the manufacturer had been contacted. After two weeks of inaction, a few of my fellow Seelye residents decided to take matters into their own hands, personally “fixing” the dryer by attaching a pencil onto the door to keep it shut (see below). It was not until the next week that the machine was finally repaired. Then, less than a month later, the washer broke (and unfortunately, due to the pool of muddy water inside, is not as easily “fixable”), and has been broken ever since. Facilities has been contacted again, but nothing has been done.

Unfortunately, the situation gets even worse. In the beginning we were able to drag our laundry to Hitchcock Hall, which, though a useful full-body workout and only a slight inconvenience when black ice was still on the ground, was still bearable because of the privilege of not one, but three whole washers and dryers. Last week, two washers in Hitch also broken. This meant that the more than 100 residents of both Hitch and Seelye shared a single washer. This kind of strain will cause more washers to break down, making it difficult for students to simply do laundry and maintain basic hygiene. Some residents have even resorted to doing laundry in other dorms like Garman House or Williston, where there is at least a usable common room to study or a library nearby to pass the time. While the two washers in Hitch have now been fixed, it still highlights the consequences of strain on washers from so many residents, and questions why the washer in Seelye has yet to be fixed if the facilities department does indeed have the ability to do so. This also reflects a lack of communication between students and staff — updates on Seelye’s laundry situation have only been offered once the CA has followed up, but only to mention that the “manufacturer has been notified” and take no further action.

This is not a new issue — returning residents recall that Seelye’s washer and dryer have been left broken for weeks at a time over the past few years. The college’s neglect of student concerns over residential life isn’t limited to Seelye either, seen notably in the removal of fridges and microwaves in the upcoming school year, along with numerous concerns over the housing process, especially during breaks. Although such matters can seem trivial, amenities play a significant role in student wellbeing. Forcing students to wait hours for limited and faulty machines (when they work at all), or travel across campus and ramp up lines at other dorms, is not only a burden on their busy schedules, but a barrier to engaging in campus activities that are a vital part of college life. The flood of (justifiably so) frustrated and passive-aggressive messages in the GroupMe regarding this issue has also turned the community environment into one of negativity, where residents connect over shared anger rather than interests and backgrounds. It is therefore imperative for the college to adequately respond and communicate with students in order for residential life to be “both rewarding and valuable in terms of personal growth, lasting friendships, and future development,” as the Office of Residential Engagement and Wellbeing states on their website.