Campus laundry meltdown leaves students out to dry

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Washing machines in Braun Hall at Occidental College in Los Angeles, CA. Oct. 4, 2024. Marty Valdez/The Occidental

Washer and dryers in the first-year dorms of Stewart-Cleland Hall, Pauley Hall and Braun Hall have begun to break down since the beginning of the semester, leaving residents from Stewart-Cleland Hall and Pauley Hall flocking to Braun Hall’s facilities in search of functioning washers and dryers.

Joy Gao (first year), a resident of Stewart-Cleland Hall, said her experience navigating the laundry issues has been frustrating.

“It has been going on for three weeks now,” Gao said. “I went to my house off campus to do it once, but I plan to go to Braun to do it next. It’s the dryers — they don’t dry at all.”

According to Gao, Stewart-Cleland Hall residents received an email from the administration informing them of the efforts to repair the machines, but the timeline for fixing the issue remained vague. Gao said this email also told students to go to Braun Hall, located just north of Stewart-Cleland, as a temporary solution.

“We got an email saying it would be fixed sometime this month,” Gao said. “In the meantime, we would have access to the Braun laundry room.”

According to Gao, this situation has led to an overflow of students from Stewart-Cleland Hall, straining Braun Hall facilities. Carlos Abram (first year), a resident of Pauley Hall, said that some students from Stewart-Cleland Hall are utilizing Pauley Hall’s — just south of Stewart-Cleland Hall — laundry facilities, instead of Braun Hall.

Abram said this has led to an influx of students using Pauley’s laundry machines, which has broken down some of the dryers from increased wear and tear.

“Since [the dryers] have broken down, it’s been hard to get my laundry done in one fell swoop,” Abram said. “It’s put a strain on the flow of laundry and ultimately has led to some malfunctions in our laundry machinery.”

Abram said the deterioration of Pauley Hall laundry facilities has influenced Pauley Hall residents to find alternative solutions.

“That’s now forcing Pauley residents to dry their clothes elsewhere,” Abram said.

Dryers in Braun Hall at Occidental College in Los Angeles, CA. Oct. 4, 2024. Marty Valdez/The Occidental

Khylee Jackson (first year), a resident of Braun Hall, said the laundry room in Braun Hall has become significantly more populous since these issues began. According to Jackson, this has made it more difficult for Braun residents to find available washers and dryers.

“The laundry room has been packed for days,” Jackson said. “It [was] easy to do my laundry, but now I have to fight for a spot. As an athlete, this makes utilizing my already limited time much harder.”

Jackson said the increased demand has created long waiting periods, with students attempting to secure washers and dryers as soon as they become available. Aitan Milman (first year), a resident in Stewart-Cleland Hall, said he is frustrated with the administration, seeking a more immediate resolution from campus facilities.

Milman said that while he understands that the administration has acknowledged the issue, the temporary measures in place haven’t provided an adequate solution for a number of students.

“We pay a lot to live here,” Milman. “The least they could do is ensure we have working laundry machines.”

Milman said that a number of students have started to coordinate among themselves in an effort to make the best of the current situation.

“A lot of us have started working together to deal with the laundry problem,” Milman said. “It’s not ideal, but coordinating with each other is the only way to get things done without waiting all day.”

According to Milman, some students have begun to alternate machine usage, where one student washes while the other dries their clothing to maximize efficiency.

“We’ve figured out that taking turns helps make things move a bit more smoothly,” Milman said. “One person washes their clothes while another dries their clothes right after, and it saves us from standing around.”

Table with detergent and laundry in Stewie Hall at Occidental College in Los Angeles, CA. Oct. 4, 2024. Marty Valdez/The Occidental

Some students are considering alternative solutions, Milman said, such as off-campus laundromats, despite their inconvenience.

“It’s not a great option,” Milman said. “It’s more expensive and takes up time we really don’t have, but at least there’s no waiting line.”

He said he wants the machines to be fixed, as the situation is negatively affecting residents in every dormitory involved.

“Hopefully this issue can be resolved quickly,” Milman said. “But for now, it’ll be annoying to get laundry done and furthermore at the expense of inconveniencing residents of other halls.”

Contact Aiden Martin-Bradley at martinbradley@oxy.edu

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