Olds Dorm has many maintenance issues. Courtesy | Hillsdale Archives

Freshman Marta Günsche often gets up at 3 a.m. when she wants to do laundry.

“Washing my clothes is more important than sleeping,” Günsche said. “And it’s always open.”

Such was the predicament of the 80 residents in Olds Residence, where one of the dormitory’s two washing machines broke March 28.

Freshman Ashley Luke described the situation as a “dog-eat-dog world.”

“I sat in the laundry room on the table that you put the clothes on, and I was reading ‘Inferno.’ It felt like inferno,” Luke said.

Luke said sophomore Olds Resident Assistant Lucy Hicks came in with a new load right as Hicks’ washer finished — the washer Luke had been hoping to use.

“I was like, ‘Please, Lucy, no. I have no clean clothes, please,’” Luke said. “Then we shared, and we put everything in. We figured it all out.”

Freshman Lyndi Klacik said she and her friends have made schedules to get a load in.

“They said, ‘OK, I’m gonna wake up at 5:45, I’m gonna get my load. Then by the time you wake up at 6:30, then you can put in your load,’” Klacik said.

Luke said she has been taking her laundry to her sibling’s off-campus house, and Hicks said she did the same thing at Kirn Residence last year — when both Olds washing machines broke during Homecoming Week.

“That was the chant: “No AC, no washing machine” — that’s how that one came out, because we had no AC, and we actually had no washing machines,” Hicks said. “It was 80 degrees.”

According to junior and Head Resident Assistant Olyvia Oeverman, college maintenance crews replaced the Upper Level washing machine April 10. Neither Oeverman nor the house director, Ava “Mama A” Ramuni, used the washing machine while there was only one.

“I didn’t want to take it up for other people,” Oeverman said. “Mama A is just one of us, she is with us during the highs and the lows.”

Oeverman said she has been reminding the dorm’s residents that trying to do all their laundry in one load could overfill the machine, making it stop working.

“The problem just compounds itself or builds on itself because then people are trying to get their laundry done in less loads,” Oeverman said. “We’ve been trying to communicate that with the girls, and they’ve been doing a great job.”

Klacik said she had about four to five loads of laundry waiting to be done in her room.

“Partially because schedules are not lining up, partially because I just never think it’s going to be open, I don’t check as much,” Klacik said. “I’m just scraping by. Every time I tried to go and do it, it’s been like, nope.”

But Klacik has come out of the experience with tips and tricks.

“The strategy of waiting is good, or setting a timer until someone finishes, and saying, ‘Tell me the moment you pull it out, please,’” Klacik said. “If you’re committed, you could do it. If you’re not committed, you’re gonna end up in my situation.”

Luke said the table in the laundry room is a good study spot as well, but Hicks said it took skill to do your laundry during those times.

“It’s hard if you don’t have blocks of time,” Hicks said.

Hicks said if residents don’t want anyone touching their laundry, they need to be there as soon as the timer goes off.

“If you are not there, your laundry will be moved,” Hicks said.

According to Günsche, the women used to have a physical list, a “queue” by the machine for the people that wanted to go next, but that did not last.

“No one respects the queue,” Hicks said. “If you’re there, then you put it in. No one’s gonna wait for you to get there.”

The broken one on Upper Level had been turned to face the wall, blocking anyone from opening the door.

“Because someone would try to use that — some desperate person,” Klacik explained. “They were not entirely functional to begin with.”

The dorm’s ice machine, shades, and kitchen tools also follow that same trend, according to the dorm’s residents. But despite the maintenance issues of the residence, the women of Olds love their dorm with fierce devotion. No lack of washing machines, air conditioning, or communal cutlery will change that.

Klacik said the “on duty” RA — a rotating schedule of RAs who sit at the desk every night to monitor the lobby and supply aid to the residents — is always doing something fun.

“You come out here, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I’ll just be out here for five minutes,’” Klacik said. “And then literally, next thing you know, it’s been two hours. There’s 10 girls sitting around where you come and go, and it’s really great, because there’s not a lot of pressure around it, and you’re just hanging out.”

Oeverman said since her freshman year, the biggest change has been the increased inclusivity of desk culture.

“It’s good for it to be a resource to everybody in the dorm,” Oeverman said. “My appreciation for Olds has grown every year.”

Freshman Amelie Oeverman said the building’s one exit and entrance builds that sense of community.

“If you leave or you’re coming back, you always just say hi to the girls and get to know them, or sit down, and there’s always people in the lobby too,” Amelie Oeverman said.

Before living in the dorm, Luke said she knew Olds had its problems, but she also knew the strength of the bonds that grew between its residents.

“I heard that there was no air conditioning, and I was like, ‘Oh, boy.’ But then I also heard that it was amazing,” Luke said. “The open door policy, which is a really big part of Olds, works, because our doors physically don’t close, like in the newer buildings. Because of the fire code, they swing shut. We don’t have that until you keep them open, so people leave their doors open and you can just pop in and be like, ‘Hey, how’s it going?’ and distract people from their Great Books reading.”

Klacik said the college had given her Kirn Residence as a living option, and she was determined not to put Olds down as her preference — until senior Maggie Baldwin changed her mind.

“She’s like, ‘It’s literally the best.’ I was like, ‘There’s no AC. I don’t do well in the heat.’ She’s like, ‘You’ll survive,’” Klacik said. “She convinced me, and now I’m gonna be an RA.”

Olyvia Oeverman said the residence’s maintenance struggles have become part of its quirks.

“It’s amazing to see how those values and the way we do things have stayed really consistent,” Olyvia Oeverman said. “The positivity and joy and appreciation for our unique culture has stayed super, super strong.”

Olyvia Oeverman said experiencing the maintenance difficulties has also strengthened bonds within the dorm. While there are hard nights and complaints, Oeverman compared the experience to a family looking back and laughing about the trials they have gone through.

“The culture just expands on itself when you come in and you have RAs that are excited and so joyful, and then acknowledge the maintenance issues, the old building, the no AC, and just laugh about it together,” Olyvia Oeverman said. “It’s like the inside joke that other people know about, but you almost take pride in it a little bit. We’re stronger for it.”

Olyvia Oeverman said Olds residents can carry that energy and culture into the new residences they will live in next year.

“It’s such a special home to be in, but I also just love talking about other dorms and how the women of campus can come together and see each other’s strengths, and how people can love us and laugh with us at our no AC,” Olyvia Oeverman said.