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(09/16/03 12:00pm)
The College has decided to try something new with the laundry situation this fall - no more quarters.
According to Mark Mehler, assistant director for the Office of Auxiliary Services, the switch from coin-operated machines to coinless machines is not uncommon for many colleges and universities.
"A lot of schools have done it," Mehler said. "Our contractor, Caleco, goes that route and we decided it was time."
"It was a pretty easy decision," he added.
Students on campus have mixed feelings about the new laundry set-up.
Priya Kumar, sophomore biology major, said, "I'm a bit skeptical. It seems like a scam-nothing is ever for free."
In order to keep the laundry non-coin operated, the price for laundry is being added into the room and board fee that accompanies tuition.
"We had to incorporate the cost into how much it is costing the College," Mehler said. "However, the student's cost is the minimum."
What Mehler and the rest of Auxiliary Services wanted to avoid was creating an extra fee for the laundry.
An example for this would be the Student Center fee.
Instead, students will be paying for everything included in residential living: a bed, a dresser, a desk and laundry services.
With the laundry cost included with the rest of the living costs, the increase of the room and board fee is raised about three to four percent.
Before the switch could take place, advantages and disadvantages such as cost, efficiency and convenience for students had to be weighed.
"I hated using coins as a student." Mehler said. "There were so many problems, such as being out of money or the machines being broken."
Mehler heard the same complaints from many students on campus, which helped him make the decision.
Some machines were also installed in addition to the previous washers and dryers.
Some machines have changed from top to front load washers, and the appliances are more environmentally friendly.
The new washers use less water and electricity and take less time to wash a load.
Additionally, students can fit more laundry into the newer models.
According to Mehler, these machines are more ethical - utility wise.
Since the contract with Caleco is not long term, feedback for this new service is important.
About twice a year, surveys from all contractors are given to students in order to get feedback.
Laundry service will now be included in the surveys.
"The few students that we talked to thought it was a great idea," Mehler said. "Residence Life was also ecstatic about the idea."
Michael Robbins, residence director for Travers Hall, said the new laundry situation is "entirely new, but the first-years seem to like it."
Residence Life hopes the new laundry situation will encourage more students to stay on campus and not take laundry home on weekends.
(03/04/03 12:00pm)
In honor of Women's History Month, the history department and the Women and Gender Studies department, hosted documentary filmmaker Zuzana Justman.
Justman showed her film "A Trial in Prague" and answered questions from the audience. Women in Learning and Leadership (WILL), Women and Gender Studies and the Gender Nation Democracy Program supported the presentation.
Justman's film centered on the communist trials held in Czechoslovakia in 1952.
In the film, many of the widows of the men tried were interviewed, as well as a woman that was tried for being a communist herself.
Justman was born in Czechoslovakia and spent two years of her life in the Tarazine concentration camp. She escaped to Argentina soon after.
In 1950, she moved to the United States and attended Vassar College where she studied Slavic language and culture. As a young widow, she raised two sons. When she was 55 years old, Justman decided to pursue her dream of becoming a filmmaker.
Justman was the producer and screenwriter of "Tarazine Diary" in 1989, as well as the producer and director of the 1993 film "Now We are Free."
She won an Emmy Award for "Voices of Children" in 1999 for her portrayal of three childhood friends who survived the concentration camps of the Holocaust.
"There are all deeply felt stories," Cynthia Paces, professor of history, said.
"A Trial in Prague" shows the Communist party's rise to power and the loyal people who helped along the way. Most of the people interviewed in the film had been in concentration camps before then.
"Trial" continued to show the downfall of communism and the betrayal many of the loyal supporters faced.
Most of the communists tortured and arrested during the trials were forced to confess to crimes they did not commit, much like George Orwell's "1984."
Eleven of those arrested were hanged. The other three were sentenced to life in prison. The ones sentenced to life were released shortly after Joseph Stalin's death.
Justman produced this film for a "number of reasons."
"A very good friend's father was one of the men executed. I became friends with her in the '50s - she had no contact with her family," Justman said.
"I went to Prague in 1958 to visit my brother, and met my friend's mother and family. The story had an impression on me," she added.
The book "Under Cruel Star" by Heda M. Kovaly also inspired Justman. Kovaly was also interviewed in the documentary.
At first, Justman's film was not shown in the Czech Republic.
The producers of the Czech television show turned it down originally, said, "There were so many films about the trials in Prague."
According to Justman, this was not the case.
The letter she received from the producers stated a reason she believes to be "unknown."
The film is now shown in the Czech Republic. Last November was the fiftieth anniversary of the trials.
When asked about her subjects, Justman said, "Some were more difficult than others." However, interviewing Kovaly was "the most difficult because she went through so much. I had the strongest identification with her," Justman said.
Justman plans to go in April to a conference, sponsored by Columbia University, concerning the trials and its anniversary.