Suites. Singles. Doubles. Apartments. Many different housing options on campus allow students to choose which residence hall best suits their needs so their transition to college can be a comfortable one.
Many students also take bathroom options into consideration when choosing a hall to live in. While perhaps not as important to some as hall location or number of roommates, this option can enhance or degrade a student’s experience at MSU.
Kinesiology sophomore Anna Taormino’s year started off a bit differently than last. Taormino said her bathroom on the first floor of Mason Hall is not in acceptable condition for the number of students expected to use it.
“There’s four stalls in there, but only two of them have locks on the doors,” Taormino said on Monday. “Our entire floor is using two bathroom stalls. So, they’re always disgusting.”
On Wednesday, all four stalls appeared to have working locks.
But students do not need to “tough it out” if they feel something is not up to their standards in the residence halls.
Residence Education and Housing Services suggests students notify their department when they have maintenance or restocking issues in the residence halls. Students can call Residence Education and Housing Services or stop by their dorm’s service center to inform staff, said Paul Manson, associate director of facilities of Residence Education and Housing Services.
Manson also said public restrooms and community bathrooms are cleaned and sanitized daily with scheduled checks during the day to “maintain a safe and healthy environment.”
Computer science sophomore Brent Payne said the bathrooms he uses stay pretty clean, but that the cleaning schedule sometimes interferes with his.
“I always have the bad habit of trying to get into (the bathrooms) when they’re in there (cleaning),” Payne said.
Despite the inconvenience of cleaning times, Taormino said, “I like not having to clean my own bathroom.”
Manson said there is approximately 5.2 million gross square feet of space to maintain in the residence halls, and approximately 3.1 million square feet are cleaned daily.
General management freshman Audrey Koutny said while she does find the occasional hair in the bathroom sink, she hasn’t experienced many serious issues with the bathrooms in her residence hall.
“Everybody’s really nice, and, for the most part, everybody does their part to keep it clean,” Koutny said.
Residence Education and Housing Services continues to strive to “‘Deliver an Outstanding Spartan Experience’ by providing a healthy, clean and safe environment for our residents and customers,” Manson said.
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