Washing out wallets

Our student leaders are again making our lives easier by providing us with "free" services. Similar to the IU Student Association proposing unlimited service for campus buses, thanks to the Residence Hall Association, dormitory residents may also have unlimited access to campus laundry machines simply by sliding their ID card through the machines. Students will even bealerted by e-mail when their laundry is complete. Sounds great, doesn't it?\nAs always, there's a catch. Just like the campus bus service -- which would impose a mandatory student fee even if you don't use the buses -- the cost of unlimited laundry service will be charged to students. Students will be forced to pay from $75 to $100 for a service they may or may not use.\nAgain, student leaders are trying to simplify our lives -- and passing the cost off to us.\nThe fee doesn't seem too unreasonable to pay. Considering the amount of laundry done in a year, if you do the math, it works out to be right. The problem is the unlimited service is not optional. Those who have their laundry done at home or choose to seek out the competition and go to other laundry services will still have to pay. With tuition as a growing concern, we cannot impose extra costs for families who may already be scraping funds together just to stay enrolled at IU.\nEven if the students use the laundry services, the already-packed washing machines and dryers will only be busier. Students already have to guard their dryers to make sure their soggy clothes will have a place to dry. Unlimited access would only exacerbate this problem. With this additional income, RHA and RPS would seriously need to invest in more machines -- machines that don't break down all the time, at that.\nFinally, RHA failed to take into consideration the fact that if laundry services were free with a swipe of a card, not only would dorm residences use them constantly, so would those who are off campus. Just like meal points, upperclassmen would just beg dorm inhabitants for their card and do their laundry free of charge. If the student fee is supposed to cover all of the residence hall dwellers, then not enough funds will be in place for the extra loads put in by off-campus freeloaders.\nRHA has discussed this problem but said they see no solution, said RHA Vice President for Student Affairs John Greene.\n"If we see someone doing 40 loads a week, there's nothing we could do about it," he said. "But we could bring it to their attention and have a talk with them."\nAll in all, it seems RHA is proposing this deal not out of convenience for students but because of corporate pressure.\n"Setting the fee has to do with our contract with Maytag, who is really pushing for this," Teter Quad President Deepam Rusia said. "The Presidents Council discussed the possibility of having this and eventually voted it down. Students just were not in support of it."\nWe shouldn't be in the business of making money for Maytag. We need to provide affordable, convenient living for students, without imposing wishy-washy fees.