Sometimes you just get frustrated. Like, things are supposed to get better, aren’t they? Even if it’s gradual, even if it’s tortuous. The arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice, as MLK said. We shall overcome. Onwards and upwards. Ever to excel. That sort of thing. 

And yet, here we are. When I was a first year, bright eyed and bushy tailed, Circuit Laundry was one of the worst things about uni. You’ll have heard the reasons; high prices, bad service, an unnecessarily clunky website. The kind of overall general experience which made me feel that I’d get more use out of those huge grim drums if I just climbed inside them and cried. At least that would be stress relief.

And now, this year’s crop of freshers- bright eyed and bushy tailed, too, are reporting that Washstation is one of the worst things about uni. You can guess the reasons. High prices. Bad service. An unnecessarily clunky website. The kind of overall general experience which is making people feel like they’d get more use out of those huge grim drums if they just climbed inside them and cried. At least that would be stress relief. 

I mean, I barely have to write this article, right? You’ll have heard the stories, dealt with the problems themselves. A friend of mine had their clothes come out of the wash smelling like urine. Someone else claimed, on a petition set up against the issue, to spending 10% of their weekly budget on laundry. It’s a kick in the teeth, isn’t it? We, as students (and as staff) working incredibly hard to make St Andrews the great place that it is, and being let down by something as basic as laundry service. It’s like if MLK couldn’t tell anyone about his dream, because in reality he couldn’t find a clean shirt anywhere. 

Now, to be clear, I’m not blaming the University for this, because it’s not a St Andrews specific problem. Every learning institution in the country seems to have a problem with how bad of a laundry service is provided. Because almost every learning institution in the country uses Circuit or Washstation. The blame lies on them, and there’s only a few things we can do to hold them accountable. 

The first? Sign this petition. Petitions are fun. 

The next- make sure our student government knows how much of a goddamn problem this is. They say they’re here to represent us, but I’ve not heard anything official from them on this most pressing of issues. If they’re going to present themselves as activists, they need to be- you know- active.  Active on the issues that matter. If you’re having a problem with laundry, make sure they ([email protected] and [email protected]) know about it. Don’t stop holding the accountable until they actually do something. 

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got laundry to sort out.