The price to use washing machines and dryers at Brandeis has recently been increased to $1 per machine after a 10-year rate of 75 cents, according to Vice President of Campus Operations Mark Collins.Collins officially made the final decision to increase the price of laundry services on campus over the summer. Returning students first learned of the price increase when they did their first loads of laundry. Collins explained, "I just didn't think of it."

Miriam von Guttenberg '10 wrote in an e-mail to the Justice, "I was shocked that the laundry prices were increased, especially since it seemed so sudden and without any warning. I think it would have been considerate [of whoever decided to raise the laundry prices] if they could have put some signs up or somehow warned the students. I understand that it is only a quarter more per load, but hey-we are students and it would be nice to have some kind of warning [or] understanding of why they raised the prices."

Collins explained, "The University has been at the 75-cent level since 1998. Over the past decade, the price of water, electricity and gas have gone up, in some cases exponentially."

Collins cited factors such as the increased prices of utilities and of updates to laundry technology to provide students with better laundry service as the main reasons for the price increase.

The technology that Collins referred to includes two services offered at Brandeis: the machines that allow students to pay for laundry with WhoCash and the addition of laundryview.com, a Web site that allows students to view the availability of washing machines and dryers in their specific dorms. However, this service is not available for all dorms on campus.

Laundryview.com is available for the Charles River Apartments, East Quad, Massell Quad, North Quad, Rosenthal Quad, the Village and Ziv Quad. Laundryview.com is not available for students who live in the Castle.

Collins said, "The addition of Laundryview and WhoCash costs money to add to the machines." Additionally, Collins noted that the recent increase in price only accounts for a two-and-a-half cent increase per year for the last 10 years, a span during which the price remained at 75 cents.

Some students question the need for the 25-cent price increase when tuition costs were also raised since last year.

Kara Karter '11 said, "I think that it is very unfair and unnecessary that the University has increased the price to do laundry. I'm just frustrated because the University has so much money, and the prices were cheaper last year," she said.

Collins referred to the price increase as "reasonable." In fact, the prices at several Waltham laundromats are significantly more expensive than those offered at Brandeis. For example, Clearwater Laundromat charges $2 to $4.75 for washing machines, depending on the size of the machine. Using a dryer costs 25 cents for every six minutes, which means that the price to dry a load of laundry for one hour is $2.50, compared to the Brandeis price of $1.

Sparkle-Brite Laundromat, also in Waltham, charges $2 to $5.75 for washing machines and 25 cents for every eight minutes for dryers, which results in $2 an hour to use the dryer.

Doing laundry at Brandeis is also less expensive compared to the prices at several nearby colleges. For example, Emerson College and Tufts University both charge $1.25 per machine, and Boston College charges $1.50 per machine.

Grace Noh's '11 initial reaction to the increase in price was that it was "unfair," but upon being told of the prices to use the laundry machines in Waltham and the prices at colleges such as Boston College and Tufts, she said the prices at Brandeis were "realistic" and that "a dollar is not a big deal as long as the price stays at a dollar.