Leaks and flooding in Dickinson Community’s Rafuse Hall have left the hall’s laundry room out of commission since the beginning of the semester.

With more than 150 residents living in Rafuse, only two washers and two dryers are currently in working order. The shortage of machines has caused many complications among residents, as well as Residential Life.

‘Last year, four washers and dryers were located in two separate rooms,’ said Johanna Sanders, an undeclared sophomore and president of Dickinson Community.

‘With more residents than last year, including our triples, and no singles, laundry is nearly an impossible task,’ Sanders said.

This past spring semester, one of the rooms on the west side of the building experienced ceiling leaks. Over the summer, the problem grew progressively worse as maintenance workers discovered three inches of water flooding the room, forcing physical facilities to close the room.

‘Water leaks in that particular room was considered to be a safety issue for the students, so we wanted to avoid any electrical problems,’ said Rene Coderre, the associate director of Residential Life facilities.

Another problem lies in the failure to uphold the proper ratio of machines to students. Stephen Kellogg, assistant to the directors of Auxiliary Services, explained that the University has a contract with ASI Campus Laundry Solutions, stating that there should be 31 to 32 students for every washer and dryer.

Ashley Ragusa, a sophomore double-majoring in psychology and human development, is the treasurer of Dickinson Town Council.

‘I’m a resident of Whitney [Hall] and the four washers and dryers here are still not nearly enough,’ she said. ‘I don’t know how the residents of Rafuse can deal with two.’

Residents voiced their frustrations to Sanders, who informed Residential Life that a resolution needs to come.

Auxiliary Services staff is studying the possibility of opening up another laundry room, Kellogg explained.

‘We need to see if it’s possible to move the plumbing and electric lines to a different location. It depends on the room’s capabilities.’

Sanders said she has been working with Residential Life and that they have stressed that they are now making the issue a top priority. They told Sanders that the room will be re-opened once the work is complete and there is no longer a safety issue. Kellogg could not give a specific date for the completion of the work, however.

As a temporary solution, students are currently given the option to use the laundry room in the basement of Digman Hall, the sister building of Rafuse in Dickinson Community. Students in Rafuse have card access to Digman until midnight each night.

‘I’m happy with the action that ResLife took once I alerted them to the issue,’ Sanders said. ‘It truly shows how important student feedback is to them.’