Most of Buena Vista University’s students live on campus and reside in the dorms. Being in close quarters with other residents, everyone is expected to share certain facilities and appliances with others who live in the same building. This includes washing machines, dryers, kitchens, lounge areas, and in some buildings the bathrooms. 

Being required to share these appliances and facilities forces residents out of their room and requires everyone to interact with other students, and also makes it more affordable to live in a dorm (as opposed to everyone having their own kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room).   

Unfortunately, there are downsides to sharing these things with the people who live in the same building. As much as everyone would like to report that community living is problem-free, most people experience a few hiccups when living close to their peers and having to share certain features of the dorm. Very recently, the dorms have experienced some residents moving laundry that doesn’t belong to them.  

Although laundry being left in the washing machines and dryers for a long period of time can be frustrating, it isn’t justifiable to move laundry that isn’t finished drying/washing or treating clothes like they aren’t someone’s personal belongings. Residents have experienced clothes being shoved behind the machines, dryers and washing machines being stopped in the middle of a cycle and their load being left on top of the machine, and clothes being taken because they were in the laundry room for most of the day.  

There are many appropriate ways to treat another person’s laundry that has taken up machines for more time than necessary. These simple solutions are how everyone should treat clothes, whether they belong to you or another resident.  Under certain circumstances, changing another resident’s laundry is reasonable, and something most people would do when needing to do their own laundry. Some students are moving clothes that have been in the washing machine for hours to the dryer, or students folding another resident’s clothes after they’ve been left in the dryer for most of the day. 

When dealing with someone who has left clothes in the machines for a long period of time and deciding what to do, it’s important to keep in mind that these clothes do belong to someone else and hold value to them. In situations like these, your treatment of another’s clothes should mimic how you would want someone to handle yours: with care and respect.