Chris JonesThe new residence hall is one of the nicest dorms on campus. Everything in it is practically brand new and the rooms are bigger than most dorm rooms that you will find on most college campuses. Seems like everything is perfect and there isn’t anything that could be missing.
All that is true. Except there is something missing. I know what you’re all thinking. What could possibly be missing? Each pod area has a lounge area with tables, chairs and couches not to mention a television with cable, which we don’t have to pay for. There is a beautiful kitchen complete with a stove, microwave and refrigerator. The laundry room has 12 washers and 12 dryers. The dorm is completely wireless. Seems almost too good to be true. However, what is missing from the dorm is something that HOPEFULLY most people tend to use.
When you walk into the bathrooms in NRH (which I have to admit, are some of the nicest, cleanest and biggest bathrooms on campus) you may notice that something is missing. You walk over to the sinks, go to wash your hands only to find out that there is no soap. You shrug it off and turn around to look for the paper towel dispenser. Only, there isn’t one. One of the most basic things you would think to have in a college dorm bathroom and it’s not there.
Don’t think I’m just some spoiled little rich girl who doesn’t want to go out and buy her own soap and paper towels. In fact, I have brought paper towels into our bathroom to be used by my hallway. But there isn’t even a soap or paper towel dispenser. It’s almost as if it was somehow “left out” of the plans for the NRH bathrooms. And if we’re going to be honest, most people don’t think to bring paper towels or soap with them into the bathroom. I know that I remind myself to bring them in or pick up a bottle of soap and a value-pack of paper towels next time I go shopping, but everyone has about 10,000 things on their mind and getting soap and paper towels for a whole hallway isn’t one of them.
To quote a member of my hallway, “I hate it. We pay how much money for room and board and we can’t even have soap and paper towels in the bathroom?” I’m sure some of you reading this are thinking, “Who really cares whether or not NRH has soap and paper towels in their bathroom? Suck it up and deal with it!” Honestly though, when you think about it, you normally do just assume that there will be soap and paper towels for you when you come out of the bathroom. Most of us wouldn’t even give it a second thought because it has just become something that we are expected to find when we come out of the bathroom, whether or not people use it or not is a separate issue that I won’t touch upon right now.
Living in the dorms and the houses, we are very lucky to have a cleaning service come in and clean our bathrooms. Just to make it clear, I’m not blaming them either. There really is no blame to be put on anyone; it’s merely something to think about. One of the simplest things has either been forgotten or just not thought to be important enough. I’m not complaining about living in NRH either. I, for one, really enjoy living here. However, it just seems that one of the simplest things has been overlooked.
Cabrini is very concerned about students getting all of their shots before being able to attend school and live on campus. All of that is well and good, but it seems as though if there really was a concern about germs, ALL of the residence halls would be equipped with soap and paper towels.
So for all of you out there who think I’m just bitching about something that you really don’t care about, just ask most people who live in NRH. I’m sure they will agree with me here that in this case, you don’t really notice how much you use something until it’s not there.
