Jonah Hofmeyer — Staff Writer 

East Campus Apartments will see some changes over the next few weeks as maintenance works to add five new washers and five new dryers to the buildings. Residents will be able to do their laundry a bit closer without having to make the trek to Covenant Hall or Southview Apartments. 

These 10 new appliances will be added to all the apartments, excluding building B, which was too small for the appliances to fit. The washers and dryers will be located in the hallway that connects the two sides of the building. A special room was built to accommodate this change. 

East Campus used to have washer and dryer capabilities. This was shut down due to the location of the machines being around hazards like electrical boxes. Students being near these hazards caused problems, so the washers and dryers were taken out. 

Robert Taylor and Student Services asked Maintenance if it would be possible to get laundry back into those apartments. Josh Dorhout, the Director of Facilities and Services, and his maintenance team have been working since Christmas break to get the new washers and dryers installed. 

“The walls are done, the machines are coming hopefully by the end of January,” Dorhout said. “We expect the project to be done for sure by spring break. Venting will be what holds us up a little bit, we have to cut a new hole in the roof.” 

While the installation process is not complete, Dorhout said they ran into a few problems when they were making room for the new appliances. Building D saw some flooding while they were fixing a water leak. Dorhout said that they caught the problem right away and were able to negate any major damages. 

Kayla Vande Zande, a junior at Dordt is a resident of East Campus. Her apartment was affected by the flooding. She said she came back to her apartment one day with all the doors and windows open to her apartment. 

“We didn’t hear anything from maintenance,” Vande Zande said. “We come back, fans are everywhere, and doors and windows are open. We didn’t find out anything ‘til we emailed Cindy Groeneweg.” 

Despite this problem, Vande Zande is excited about the new washer and dryer. “I hate having to walk across campus carrying my laundry. Last time I did it, it was snowing so I had a covering of snow overtop my laundry walking to and from Kuiper. So, I’m very excited to not have to do that.” 

East Campus Apartments has some of the oldest buildings on campus, causing many students to speculate that the apartments might get torn down and replaced. With the addition of these new appliances, that seems less likely. Dorhout said that East Campus Apartments cause the most problems for his team. 

“From the maintenance side of things, I think we should cut our losses and we should continue down a road that looks at a replacement.” Dorhout said. “But with Dordt’s enrollment growth, it’s hard to delete that many beds because you have to then find somewhere else for students to go. Me and my team would love to get rid of them, but then what are you going to do with the kids?” 

Dorhout though, is optimistic about the changes for East Campus, as long as students take care of the new machines. He urges students to not overstuff the washer and dryer. 

“That’s when we see the most issues. Do an extra load. It costs $1.50 extra but your clothes will be cleaner and it’s way easier on our machines.” 

Photo credit: Greta Haas