Every single time I do my laundry, I carry my laundry basket, detergent, dryer sheets and quarters up to the seventh floor of my building (usually only to find someone’s wet laundry taking up valuable washer space or have my quarters eaten by the dryer). And every single time I go through this ritual, I have one number on my mind: 4,300.

$4,300 is the amount of money I pay to Northeastern University to live in West Village C for one semester. That’s over $1,000 a month, and yet I am still paying three dollars to wash my sheets. To me, this doesn’t make any sense. I don’t see why I should be paying this extravagant amount for rent and not receive common amenities included in many of the apartment buildings close to campus, which charge much less per month.

Also, Northeastern does not use energy or water-efficient washers and dryers. If our quarters are supposed to pay for the water and energy to run these machines, why are we not using washers and dryers that leave a slightly smaller ecological footprint on the earth?

It’s not like all major universities charge for their laundry services. According to their websites, LaSalle University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Kean University, George Mason University, and Princeton University, among others, all offer free laundry services to their students. Why is Northeastern so far behind everyone else?

-Chelsea Reil is a sophomore journalism major.