Should college students have to pay to wash their clothes, carrying the burden of yet another expense on their shoulders? That is the question.
Belhaven University recently installed new, high-tech washing and drying machines in almost all of the dorms. The switch from their worn-out machines to their fancy new ones are taking a toll on some of the students wallets. The machines are all connected to a handy app where you can pay from and check the status of your loads. The bad thing about the app is every time you want to put money into your account, it has to be at least ten dollars. This makes it stressful for students because some can’t afford to put ten dollars in or they simply just want to do one load of laundry.
David Lewis, junior sports medicine major, has a love-hate relationship with the new machines. Lewis said, “I don’t believe getting new machines were necessary immediately, I feel like we could’ve waited a little longer. But, now that they got them I guess it was a good idea.” Josie Brown, Resident Advisor at Belhaven, thinks the old machines worked fine, “It is nice to have newer machines but it was not a necessity. If anything it became more of an inconvenience.”
The University Village dorm at Belhaven has free washing machines in it because the students pay more to live there. Students at other dorms were warned that if they were caught using the UV’s washing machines then they would be given a fine. Isobel Nolan, sophomore nursing major, thinks the fines are ridiculous. She said, “If we have friends over there and they were like ‘Hey, i’m throwing in a load, do you want to come over and do laundry and just hang out?’ I think that’s fine, why not. Why should they fine us?” However, Lewis thinks this rule makes sense, “Honestly, i don’t like it, but it’s fair.”
There have also been some problems with the students trying to pay for the machines and they couldn’t or the machines broke. Nolan said a few machines upstairs have broken, “Some of them weren’t working and the app told them that the machines were open and they weren’t.” There have also been cases of the machines scamming the students. Brown said “I’ve gotten a lot of residents saying that the machines go offline a lot and sometimes take their money.”
Though the machines are nice and new, Belhaven should think about the students who are already giving them all their money and can’t afford this luxury. “I definitely know some people that are already spending money at the school, trying to go to school and putting that extra ten dollars to do laundry is kind of a lot.” Do you think students should have to pay to wash their clothes?
https://www.wikihow.com/Do-Your-Laundry-in-a-Dorm
com210news 
This story really hits home as a campus resident and I’m glad that you chose to cover this topic, Hannah. I know a lot of people (myself included) are not happy about this situation, so it’s nice to see this topic getting some attention. Josie is actually my advisor too, so that quote from her really caught my attention. I like how you go into detail about the concerns with payments, breaking machines, and the issues with the app. I did notice that the I’s in your quotations aren’t capitalized, but that is an easy grammar error to fix. Otherwise, good job!
LikeLike
Good job! Honestly, I think it’s nuts. Students spend a tremendous amount of money to attend school, along with added costs of residency, books, etc. Free laundry was a stress reliever. I think BU maybe made a quick decision that could have been more useful in another area. Sources are great and so is the video content!
LikeLike
This was an awesome story to cover Hannah. I think everyone that lives on campus is highly upset that we have to now pay to wash and dry our clothes so it is a very good story idea. It is nice to hear the opinion of a resident assistant as well. I like how you went into detail about the pros and cons as well, even though there aren’t many pros!
LikeLike
Hannah, I don’t live on campus but I can understand why this would be annoying to pay to wash clothes even after what we pay to go to school here! It must be nice for the app to tell you when the clothes are done though, I wish my washer machine had that!
LikeLike
Hannah, I have not had the experience of doing laundry at Belhaven. I am a commuter living at home and I still have my mom washing all my clothes. Therefore, I am not acknowledgeable of these new changes and the trouble that students are having with doing their own laundry. I didn’t even know they were required to pay. To be honest, I don’t think students have to pay. They are already poor enough as it is and I think it would be easier on them if they did not have to pay the extra ten dollars to have their clothes cleaned.
LikeLike