On Feb. 27, The Coalition for Laundry Ease of Access Now! and the ResStaff Allied Organization published a petition calling for subsidization of laundry in the dorms, arguing that all students, regardless of income-level, should be able to have access to personal hygiene resources.
Each load of laundry costs $3 in the residential machines — $1.50 each for washing and drying. The Central Student Government previously stated that students living in dormitories on campus spend an average of $90-$200 on laundry per year, and the expenses cannot be covered by financial aid.
CLEAN! is a student-run organization that advocates for laundry subsidization on campus. LSA junior Holden Hughes, head of publicity for CLEAN!, told The Daily paying for laundry places a heavy burden on students living in the dorms.
“One of the main issues is just the fact that there’s really no financial aid on campus right now that can help with paying for laundry,” Hughes said. “So you could be in a financial situation that requires you to have a lot of need-based financial aid and then still be expected to pay for laundry.”
Hughes also said CLEAN! has received many positive responses from students since starting their campaign.
“We’ve had over 500 people reach out in some capacity, whether that was engaging on social media or responding to our survey, sort of expressing their grievances with this,” Hughes said. “They were more inclined to just buy new clothing items because it was cheaper to do that than to wash laundry once a week. … There were also stories of people sleeping on the floor of their dorm because they didn’t want to get their bed sheets dirty.”
In an interview with the The Daily, LSA junior Sam Dykhouse, research lead for CLEAN!, said the testimonies from students struggling with medical bills while attempting to also pay for laundry stuck with him.
“Students that have recurring medical bills, that was one that stood out to us,” Dykhouse said. “Having to pay laundry money makes it harder to afford those medical bills and makes them sort of add to the insecurity related to being able to afford those medical bills or medications that people obviously need and can’t go without.
Hughes said he worries laundry expenses are contributing to larger environmental issues as well, claiming the current system encourages students to drive home to do laundry at home rather than use the dorm’s facilities.
“There were a lot of people who talked about the fact that they drive home … just to do laundry every weekend,” Hughes said. “That stood out to me because our university is trying to decarbonize and to reduce their carbon footprint, and I think when you’re also, at the same time, encouraging students to commute a long distance just to afford to do laundry, you’re sort of acting hypocritical to those goals.”
Dykhouse told The Daily about a recent meeting with MHousing, where there seemed to be little commitment to making free laundry a reality.
“During that meeting, we presented evidence discussing costs as we had calculated … and really tried to highlight the voices of students on campus who are struggling with this issue,” Dykhouse said. “When representatives were pushed a little bit harder, they failed to give a concrete commitment to actually modifying the (laundry) contract.”
Surrounding universities such as Michigan State University, Western Michigan University, and Ohio State University have already subsidized student laundry services. MHousing declined to comment on why students still have to pay for laundry in the dorms.
In an interview with The Daily, Nursing junior Arlette Morales, a North Quad Residence Hall resident, said she thinks laundry in the dorms should be free because paying for laundry personally affects her more as a first-generation college student.
“The dorms are already really expensive … and it’s starting to get more expensive too,” Morales said. “I’m a first generation student. … So it’s just kind of like, more of a burden having to pay for laundry. … I feel like (the administration) should support us more.”
Daily Staff Contributor Micayla Horwitz can be reached at hmicayla@umich.edu.
