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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 26, 2000)
t Page 4A Tuesday. September 26,2(10; THE BATTALION t Clean up your act Proper laundry-room etiquette can be es By Brooke Holbert The Battalion Beneath the unassuming guise of a community laundry room stands a place where people’s garments are seen by all and the shirt off a man’s back is jio longer safe from size and color distortion. Like the post office and the Memorial Student Center (MSC), most stu dents have visited residence hall laundermats. A foreign activity to college rookies, cleaning one’s own clothes is yet another new aspect of post-high school independence. ' As basic and standard as doing laundry may seem, there does exist an un official code of conduct that Mom may not have passed on to her college- bdund Aggie. Do not mess with other people’s laundry. ;Like teachers emphasized in second grade, one should tnjt to keep one’s hands to oneself. t I was just a few minutes late one time, and someone yanked my clothes out and left them soaking wet on top of the washer,” said Tina Palmero, a freshman general stud ies major. “They were soaking wet. That’s obnoxious. The le4st they could have done was set them in the dryer.” ;*Some assertive launderers may even discard a load of clothes mid-cycle if it interferes with their schedule. J“I was washing my sheets and towels and made sure to come and check on them 10 minutes before they were due to come out,” said Ashley Williams, a freshman business major. “1 get there, and sojneone has taken them out of the machine before they were done and had put their stuff in. It cost me time and money.... It makes you want to retaliate.” ; Unless the wash load has been completely abandoned, it may be best to allow an individual some time to retrieve it before comman deering the machine. It is more than a little violating when one discov- er$ that his or her underwear has been handled by strangers. Check your wahe. In any jjeavily utilized facility, the biohazard level is going to be high Some basic upkeep is generally expected of everyone. • “I once found this streaky mess in the bottom of the washer,” said Amanda Atkins, a junior English and mathematics major. “I thought it was ink or something, but it turned out to be this big mess of hair. It was so, so gross. I ended up cleaning someone’s matted hair out of the washer with a Kleenex.” Do not wash it all at once. .Nothing is worse than being denied a washing unit because some su^yiving the clothes-washing experience clotheshorse has decided to monopolize the facility with a monstrous wardrobe. It is best not wait until the last minute to wash everything one owe “Bringing three and four wash loads at one time is rude — especially whei it gets so busy on the weekends,” said Melissa Boyce, a freshman geolog major. “Two wash loads is fair. It you have a lot to wash, come in anddoil every few hours or so.” * RUBEN DELUNA/Thk Battai Do not hare your soul. While the modern laundry room has taken on a locker-room feelfi chewing the fat, there are still those who want to clean in peace. “I don’t think the laundry room is the place to meet people,” said Gahe Perez, a senior economics major. “There is nothing wrong with a little friend ly conversation, but it’s not a singles bar." Laundry room chitchat can be pleasant, but the forging ofne» friendships is not always first on everyone’s mind. Being awaredj others’ personal space is key. “Passing gripes is okay,” said Boyce. “I left a pen in the dryer,ait I went off on it to some guy.... He’ll never remember me. unlesslt sees me walking around in pen-stained jeans.” Expect a few sacrifices on Sundays. If a student has decided that the time to scrub those dirty threads!: Sunday night, he or she must be prepared to compromise. There willbi a wait. People will be impatient. One load at a time may be the stan dard operating procedure. “Sunday nights people get real anal about everything because it is sc busy,” said Mike Fenton, a junior psychology major. “They start throw ing each other’s stuff around. I usually try to get it done before then to dodge the bullet.” This unexpected war zone can be avoided by laundering dur ing the week or early in^the morning. Survival in the laundry room rests heavily upon common sense. Gawk ing at someone’s unstylish sweater is rude. A lint filter thick w® matted wool seems careless. Sharing successful cleaning tips it not on everyone’s agenda. For the most part, however, the college laundry room is relatively free of hassle. People are considerate and clothes-cleaning cat fights are few and far between. “I hear girls complaining about people moving their clothes around and stuff,” said Daniel Ayewah, a freshman aerospace engineering major. “I don’t let things get to me. You have to say to yourself; ‘I don’t want to be annoyed by this.’ I’ve never worried about anyone takins my clothes or anything like that. It they wanted them, they could have them.’ However, should sharing a laundry room prove too traumatic, the pre-co ; lege standard remains a sure thing: Take it to Mom. PIZZA mim 2 - for - Tuesdays 9 2 Large 1 Topping Pizzas $ 12, for delivery or pick-up : College Station 764-7272 1100 Harvey Rd. Northgate 846-3600 601 University Bryan 268-7272 3414 East 29th St. Harvey Road location open till 2 a.m. on Thursday, 3 a.m. on Friday & Saturday JESUS CHRIST in The Bible > The Quran A Comparative Study Presented by the Muslim Students' Association Friday, Sep. 29th Rudder 601 @ 6pm Speaken Free Admission! Dr. Jamal Badawi (St. Mary’s Univerisity Halifax, Canada; Professor of Religious Studies & Management) Refreshments served! For more info, email islamlOWtamu.edu or call 693-5463 Visit our table in MSC hallway between 11am and 3pm