LIU Post Loves Dropping the Ball in Nasty Nassau Hall
As the washers and dryers of Nassau Hall have not been working since the beginning of the semester, LIU students have had to go to other residence halls, laundromats, or simply wait in order to have clean clothes. One would hope that the school would have easily addressed this problem by now, but the lack of attention to the matter has students feeling like they just don’t matter.
When residents of Nassau Hall arrived on Sept. 7th, move in-day at LIU, they were met with some not-so welcoming conditions in the laundry room basement. Students say that approximately two out of four washing machines were fully functioning in a hall of one hundred students. Also, one out of five dryers was out of service. No “Out of Order” signs were designated for any of the equipment at the time. Now, seven weeks into the semester, students are still struggling with conditions they find appalling at a school where the average resident student pays $50,000 a year in tuition. I mean really—how long does it take to get washers fixed? The lack of speedy replacements or repairs makes the Hall staff look bad. It sends the message that students’ needs are not a priority.
Students have enough to worry about, like their studies and extracurricular activities. They should not have to fret about potentially not having clean clothes for the school week. Students waste time going to and from the laundry room, waiting to use washer and dryers. It is a constant race to see who gets to the laundry equipment first; how absurd.
As of September 22, Campus Life Coordinator Ariana Livreri of Nassau Hall has begun working towards a solution for the laundry room by contacting Maytag, the washer and dryer machine company used at LIU Post. But this should have been taken care of over the summer, before the fall semester began! How long does replacing washer and dryers really take?
It is interesting to see all the new tables, umbrellas, and flags on campus this semester. We have at least three new eateries, yet the basic necessities like laundry aren’t being taken care of. Maybe because the laundry isn’t “visible,” it goes unaddressed. If the changes that need to be made are not seen by parents or alumni the “real” issues still remain.
Some argue that the students put too many clothes in the machines, filling them up to the top, and because of this, the weight is too much for the small machines, leaving them at full capacity. The dryer’s spin cycle breaks, which stops the circulation of hot air to dry the clothing. Others believe that the machines are simply just dated. Due to the lack of space, clothing is being left on top of the washer and dryer machines, leaving clothes to get mixed in with other clothes of residents. The laundry room is messy, hampers are scattered everywhere, and water and soap seep out of the washing machines on to the floor. No one should have to undergo these circumstances on a college campus that boasts about making residents feel like they’re at home, while being away from home.
The washers and dryers in Nassau Hall should be fixed immediately, especially after LIU Post made executive decisions to satisfy laundry prices with tuition. The solution to this issue is having the washer and dryer equipment checked for inspection regularly, once a month. Or, how about lighting a fire under the people whose job it is to have taken care of these facility issues? Hey, you know that ball you dropped in making sure the laundry equipment works? Well, it’s way past time to give this matter the attention it deserves to resolve the problem immediately.
