Laundry machines in several residence halls were not available to students during family weekend and fall break.
According to Dominic Bellido `24, the Community Advisor (CA) of Mary Low, the laundry issues were a consequence of card-reader malfunctions around campus.
“There was an internet issue during these days,” he told The Colby Echo. “Students could not swipe their cards to do the laundry.”
“There were three students who texted me [about the problem],” he continued. “Then, I contacted my CA supervisor, [who reached out] to the ITS service. This issue was resolved at the end of the day,” Bellido said.
Many students have had a difficult time getting their regular day-to-day chores done as a result of the network outages. Julie You `23 is one such student.
“I think the problem is more about card [services],” she said. “Sometimes we are not able to swipe the card. Because machines are connected to WiFi, when there is an internet issue, machines are not available.”
Students often complain about poor access to laundry machines. You mentioned that when there are not enough machines, students have to wait for a relatively long period of time to do laundry.
Bellido also pointed out that the pay-per-load laundry system can be expensive. A load of laundry in the washer runs $1.70 and a run through the dryer costs the same. The cost of laundry has been an ongoing issue on campus for several years.
The need for working laundry machines has been the focus more recently, however, and hopefully with functioning internet, there will be at least functioning machines.
~ Kristen Shen `24
