By Uri Butler
Staff Writer
To get laundry done on time, students have to be strategic.
Yolanee McCloud, a senior psychology major, has been living at the Scholars Inn’s Apartments since 2022. Her living experience first moving in was satisfactory, but this semester thus far she describes as “not the best.” On social media, students have been openly expressing their concerns about their dorm washer and dryer machines. Particularly in the Scholar’s Inn area, they have highlighted the appliances malfunctioning frequently. McCloud may have not been expressing her views publicly online on apps like Fizz, but she is surely affected by the situation unfolding.
“I heard it was like five washers and four dryers that are broken now. Before, the time it took to wash and dry my clothes did not take long because I knew them to be working.”
Other students often neglect their laundry once they put it in to wash, hindering McCloud and others in completing their laundry on time.
“People would just like to keep their clothes in (the washer and dryer) for hours when others need to wash!”
McCloud must now alter her usual washing schedule to have more convenient access to the limited availability of functioning appliances. Traffic increases in Scholar’s laundry at night when students are dismissed from class and have idle time. McCloud was wise enough to pivot against the crowd to wash during her time off from work.
“My usual time is to wash is during the weekends, but this past weekend most of the washers were not working. I’m a student worker for the Office of Student Life, and since today (Wednesday) is my day off I took the advantage of getting in here while everyone’s to class.”
Jonell St. Fort is a Resident Assistant (RA) assigned to Building 24 at Scholar’s Inn. He too is aware of the constant malfunctioning of the washer and dryer machines. At times, he finds it challenging to pacify his irate residents. The sophomore business administration major/psychology minor, affectionately known as “Porkchop,” has been enjoying his experience as an RA since starting last year. Even though it’s time-consuming interacting with the students, he likes the fact that it gives him the opportunity of being a student leader.
“My daily duties would include getting a recap of what happened during the previous shift. If nothing else is to be done, I would start rounds which means walking throughout the community, ensuring the property and residents are safe. Next, I would return to the clubhouse to file paperwork or head into the mailroom to sort packages.”
Several residents had approached Porkchop directly to express their frustrations about the washer machines and dryers not working.
“A lot of them are really frustrated, because there is not another convenient location or someone they can depend on regularly to help them get their clothes clean. I’m a student as well, which means I face the same issues and it’s disheartening facing residents seeking solutions that I can’t fulfill. Luckily, I can rely on friends from other communities sometimes to help me. Others don’t have that luxury. It’s burdensome to hear students within my building commuting on foot to Young Hall to wash a load of clothes.”
Porkchop explains that coming to wash in Scholar’s is like lining up on the battlefield.
“The weekends are usually my time to wash around 1 am, when the washers are usually free. Scholars houses a lot of residents, and the washroom is small; so, it’s a battle getting a good operating machine,” Porkchop said. “It’s less risk of someone taking your clothes out the machine immediately after it’s done. To avoid that, I would wait in the lounge and do homework until it’s time to dry the clothes. Sometimes I may be able to get a dryer out the three or four that may work because even though I’m in the washroom late at night, other persons are waiting too to dry their loads.”
Porkchop empathizes with his residents about their frustrations. He encourages them to be patient with the machines since they are mostly outdated and delicate to operate. Also, he suggests networking with people in other communities to use their appliances as most are willing to assist. Porkchop confirmed the washers and dryers are serviced as often as they can be and recommends people be conscious of the amount of clothes they put into the washer and dryers. Excess clothes can overwork the machines causing them to break down again.
Traveno Carter and Emmanuel Sims are working together to alleviate the situation. In the last two and half years, Carter has served as the Resident Director in Scholar’s Inn and Sims has been serving as the Associate Director and Interim Director of Housing for the last ten months. Daily they deal with work orders, expediting them according to their priority. Sims particularly refers to himself as the “fire put-outer” as his work functions change daily.
“All the information from work orders and facility issues collected the night prior start my workday. With that information, I check with the other Resident Directors to categorize each issue to see which of the following departments would be responsible for fixing the problem: Operations Team, Belfor (property restoration), or HES (facilities management).”
Fully aware of the problem with the laundry machines, Sims elaborates on the process of getting them fixed. “The maintenance of our washers and dryers are outsourced through CSC ServiceWorks. Meaning once an initial work order reporting is done, another request to repair is sent to the CSC ensuring they come on property to assess for a solution.”
Carter has confirmed that Langston University has been in contract with CSC since he started. In addition, he mentioned why the washer machines and dryers are constantly out of operation. “Honestly, students overload the washers and dryers which isn’t the proper way. There have been instances where the motors in the appliances would overheat and give off a screeching noise.”
In addition, Carter discussed types of clothing when selecting loads plays a key role in the appliances’ functionality. “You must be aware of what you’re washing. For example, washing towels along with jeans isn’t a wise choice as a load because it’s too heavy, and it overworks the appliances causing them to malfunction.”
Carter confirms there are 529 residents currently living in scholars, which means the commercial washers are in constant use and normal wear and tear of the appliances are inevitable. When a machine breaks down CSC doesn’t show up immediately. “CSC has asked used us to give us 5 to 7 business days for them to reach here to investigate.”
Residential Life and Housing Services has provided support material to help educate students in taking better care of the appliances to avoid malfunction.
“We have cue cards on display giving steps on how to wash, but this method hasn’t been effective. Active programs with incentives are in the pipeline to get more students involved.” Just this week, Carter sent out an email informing students on how to properly operate the dryers. Sims is hopeful things will work better in the future gives additional insight on how the washroom can operate smoothly with minimal issues.
“Behind the scenes, we do a lot. We are literally up late at night thinking how we are going to fix this? We are in conversation to upgrade our facilities. Help us, help y’all. Keep communicating with us directly through the housing email, we know students are more liberal through social media, but we want to hear from you too.”
Uri Butler is a sophomore broadcast journalism major
