Manitou Messenger

Issue date: 10/10/08 Section: Variety

Media Credit: Saman Bemel-Benrud

Unless you're new to St. Olaf this year, you most likely noticed the new laundry machines that were installed in each dorm and honor house.

Gone are the days of Mac Gray's reign. Those big signs that boasted "Life Just Got Easier" no longer glare down on you from the wall of your laundry room, forcing you to acquiesce that life, despite its papers, midterms and pressing social life, is indeed easier with the presence of Mac Gray industrial washers and dryers.

However, the biggest absence that you have probably noticed is the lack of a card slot in the upper right hand corner. The new machines, installed by Coinmach during July, no longer require a card in order to operate. In the past, students needed to add money to their cards via the Mac Gray card reader in Buntrock. However, with the new machines this is no longer necessary.

So how are we, as St. Olaf students, paying for laundry? Pamela McDowell, director of residence life, explained that the expense is already included in the cost of the living on campus in a residence hall or honor house.

"You don't pay any more money for using the electricity or microwave in your dorm," stated McDowell when explaining the cost concept behind the new machines. In fact, the college is no longer earning revenue through laundry as they previously did with the Mac Gray system.

When the contract with Mac Gray was up and Residence Life begin to evaluate new systems, they considered the idea of remaining with a card system that would require having a laundry account set up with your Ole One Card. Yet such a plan was not cost-effective or efficient because it would have cost $100,000 alone for each of the 68 card readers, not to mention the wages of personnel to install the readers.

In the end, McDowell explained there was no need to have readers installed because St. Olaf is an extremely residential campus. "It would be one thing if we were like the University of Minnesota and students who lived off campus came up to do laundry without paying for it," she said.

In addition to this cost, McDowell explained an update with Mac Gray, which had been the college's laundry facilitator since 1991, would not suit the needs of the college and student body best. Residence Life eventually settled on Coinmach because of its service.

Continued...

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