Studio art sophomore Chris Marshall prepares to dry his laundry Jan. 6, 2013, in the basement of McDonel Hall. Laundry in residence halls will become completely free in Fall 2013 semester, with Snyder and Phillips halls leading the change this summer. Justin Wan/The State News
—MSU will offer another incentive for students to stay on campus — unlimited, free access to laundry machines.
The Department of Residence Education and Housing Services, or REHS, announced Jan. 2 that it will offer unlimited, free laundry services to students living on campus in the residence halls starting in the 2013 summer semester. The services will start in Snyder and Phillips halls during the summer semester and will branch out to all on-campus residence halls in fall 2013.
“We think it is going to be a good amenity to our students,” Assistant Vice President for the Division of Residential and Hospitality Services Vennie Gore said. “Students won’t have to worry if they have enough money to do their laundry and (will) not have to worry about when they have to do it.”
The current washers and dryers used for on-campus housing consist of both a coin and card system.
The new system no longer will require students to pay to use the machines. Students can swipe their MSU ID cards to use the machines.
REHS Assistant Director of Communications Ashley Chaney said students spend more than $1.3 million on laundry services, individually averaging 18 loads per semester. This results in a total cost of about $90 for laundry per semester for on-campus residents.
Each load currently costs $1.75 to wash and drying costs an additional 75 cents.
Free unlimited laundry will not raise the tuition or housing costs for students, Gore said.
REHS started working on the project at the beginning of fall semester. REHS officials met with MSU’s laundry service provider, WASH Multifamily Laundry Systems, to work out a new plan.
“REHS understands the importance of the campus living experience, and we are constantly exploring ways that we can meet the needs of our students,” Chaney said. “We are committed to making things easy, convenient and cost-effective for our residents so they can focus on what is most important, and that is graduating from MSU.”
Marketing freshman Jack Wissman said he is interested in the new laundry services and believes it will be useful for students.
“I’m very excited about the new free laundry because now I will be reluctant to let my laundry pile up, and (I’ll) do it more often,” Wissman said.
While Wissman is excited about free, unlimited laundry in the dorms next year, he doesn’t believe it will keep students from moving off campus.
“I feel like while it’s a great benefit to the dorms and a point in their favor,” Wissman said. “I personally feel that people go off-campus to get more freedom, so I don’t believe it’ll make that much of a difference.”
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