Williston’s tuition includes access to a high quality prep school education, as well as lots of amenities and a vibrant, beautiful small town in our backyard. One thing not included, however, is Yet you can often find students scavenging for quarters, because laundry is not included in tuition, and Sammy cards can’t be used to operate the machines.

A wash cycle costs $1.50, while a dry cycle costs $1.25; that’s a total of 11 quarters to wash and dry your clothes. In Ford, there are three washer and three dryers, with a set of each on each floor. In Memorial East & West, as well as 194 Main, there are three sets as well. In John Wright, there are two washers and dryers. There is plenty of access all around campus for students to do their laundry. But many students around campus are not big fans of having to pay.

“[It is] ridiculous that we have to pay for our laundry, especially when they [the machines] don’t even work half the time,” said senior Solomon Neuhaus.

For convenience, Solomon feels laundry machines should be Sammy card accessible.

Clothes can start to pile up and have a lingering smell if you don’t do your laundry. But for some people 11 quarters can put a hole in their pocket.

“I just think it’s too expensive,” Alex Poulson ’21 said.

Alex explained how students must spend at least $5 in the campus store to purchase quarters. Alex was not too happy about this. “‘My parents only give me $15 a week in spending money, and I waste $5 of that buying quarters for laundry.”

Senior Tayah Sommers feels laundry should be free. “It should be part of our tuition, it’d be much easier if that was included. There’s nowhere to get quarters around here.”

Once your money has been inserted into the machines, do you ever wonder who collects it? The Willistonian spoke with Mr. McCullagh, the school’s Chief Financial Officer, whose job it is to know where the money goes.

Quarters are collected by Automatic Laundry, the West Newton, Massachusetts company that owns the machines around campus. They maintain the machines to make sure they are working properly. Williston has had a contract with Automatic Laundry since 1986, when the company was called Highland Laundry, McCullagh said.

After the flat fee Automatic Laundry takes from the machines around campus, they give 20% back to Williston. The money Williston receives goes into the school’s operating budget.

In March, there will be new laundry machines in every dorm around campus, and these will come with some modern conveniences. For one, you won’t have to scrounge for quarters anymore. Students will be able to pay for the new machines with credit and debit cards after setting up an account with the laundry service. If you do not have a card there is an alternative option in the campus store.

Although the new machines are not going to be Sammy card accessible, Mr. McCullagh said he would have loved this to be an option for students, but the controllers for each machine are out of the school’s budget.