Laundry machines in Northeastern residence halls, which, for years, cost most students $3 to do one cycle of laundry, are permanently free to use as of the fall 2024 semester. 

For students, the development was surprising but welcome; many were still under the impression they would have to pay for laundry with the money allotted each semester through the Husky Card system when selecting housing in the spring and summer. 

“I just went down one day, and it was free,” said Calliope Silverberg, a second-year biochemistry major who lives in Davenport A. 

Silverberg’s experience mirrors what many students experienced when they moved back to campus at the beginning of the semester. Students living at on-campus housing locations have yet to receive a communication from the university explaining the change or why it occurred. 

The change applies to all university residence halls except for the Midtown Hotel and 60 Belvidere St., the university confirmed in an email to The News Oct. 1 

“We don’t own the laundry facilities at 60 Belvidere and Midtown, our leased properties, and cannot change them,” Northeastern spokesperson Dan Sarro said in an email to The News. “We do, however, provide a credit to students at these two locations.”

Sarro said there was no additional fee students have to pay on their housing bill to accommodate the change. 

“It was kind of a surprise when I moved in. I had heard about it after I moved in and people were talking about it,” said Aleeza Syed, a fourth-year political science major currently living in West Village E. “I went in with the expectation that I would have to pay using my Husky Card.” 

Syed had previously lived on campus at 60 Belvidere St. and West Village A. While she said she was never concerned about running out of money for laundry, she said she often had excess money for laundry on her Husky Card that remained unused. 

For Syed, the new system ensures no additional money is spent, it makes doing laundry more efficient and the machines easier to use. For Silverberg, the new system eliminates an extra cost she had last year. 

“I think [last year] I added $20 first semester and second semester about the same,” Silverberg said. She said she was originally allotted around $100 through her Husky Card and wished she could have used the money allotted for printing, $120, for laundry instead. 

The new free laundry system has only been extended to some housing locations. The Midtown Hotel and 60 Belvidere St., previously known as the Sheraton Hotel, are continuing to charge students for wash and dry cycles. On the Northeastern Housing website, it is only stated that there are laundry facilities available at 60 Belvidere St. and the Midtown Hotel. It is not specified that the buildings use a different system than the rest of the on-campus residence halls. 

Brooke Kruger, a biochemistry major, and Michelle Seznec, a psychology major, are first-year students living in the Midtown Hotel. For them, laundry is not only inconvenient, but also a significant expense. 

Midtown and 60 Belvidere St. residents like Kruger and Seznec, were compensated with Husky Dollars in exchange for paying for their laundry out of pocket. 

“We were given $50 for food, like dining dollars,” Seznec said. “But I’ve already spent $60 on laundry a month into the semester.” 

Seznec said she does about two to three loads per week but often has to add additional time to the dryer for her clothes to fully dry, adding another $0.25 for six extra minutes. 

“I think if they compensated us more for how much we were spending, that would be more fair. I think it is the fact that the system itself is unequal,” Seznec said.

Kruger felt very strongly that the Midtown Hotel and 60 Belvidere St. residents are disadvantaged because of where they live.   

“I think there should be a universal, equal way for everybody. It shouldn’t be [that] some people have to pay for it and get compensated in a weird way,” Kruger said. 

Syed echoed this sentiment. While making most laundry on campus free was a good first step, excluding certain buildings adds an extra living expense for students who aren’t given that benefit, she said. 

“I think that [laundry] has caused people unnecessary trouble and I think this system is definitely working way better. It should be extended to all housing on campus,” Syed said. 

The university added that laundry is also free on the Oakland campus.