Laundry in the Quadrangle is free of charge, but that doesn’t mean it won’t cost you something.
Various Penn students have reported experiences of stolen laundry.
College freshman and Daily Pennsylvanian Copy Associate Nadia Goldman said she had some of her clothes taken in the Class of '28 laundry room in Fisher-Hassenfeld College House. Goldman said she left a load of clothes in the dryer but when she returned, she found the dryer open.
“I didn’t really think anything of it,” Goldman said.
It was only when she went through her laundry that she found about $250 worth of clothing was gone.
“I wanted to bring this dress home for Thanksgiving. I couldn’t find it, and then I realized an expensive jacket was missing and some leggings,” she said.
She said she then went to former Fisher House Dean Shauna Patterson, who suggested she file a police report. Goldman said she decided against it because it didn’t seem necessary for her situation.
College sophomore Nancy Hu had two weeks worth of her laundry stolen last year, also from the machines in the Class of '28 building.
“I just didn’t think that that kind of thing was something that anyone does,” Hu said. “What kind of person would take it?”
Hu remembers putting her laundry in the washer and when she returned to flip the load, she found her clothes already in the dryer. She then set her timer and left.
Hu said when she returned, she found nearly all of her clothes gone, save for a few socks and towels.
“I lost like a lot of my athletic apparel and pretty much had to restock everything,” Hu said. “It was probably $2000 worth of clothes.”
Hu explained that after she had searched the laundry room and asked around her floor for information, she went to the Quad gate front desk. They suggested that she file a police report. Unlike Goldman, Hu chose to do so, but her laundry was never found nor returned to her.
“I cried. It was the first tragic thing that happened at school,” Hu said. “Within that hour, two hour frame, I was kind of frantic.”
Penn Residential Services said students should keep a close eye on their laundry.
“We encourage residents to utilize the laundry monitoring service, and to collect their laundry in a timely manner. If a resident reports their laundry stolen, we encourage them to file a police report. The reality in most cases is that another student is responsible for the missing laundry, whether maliciously or accidentally,” Director of Residential Services John Eckman said in an emailed statement.
Despite her experience, Hu said she does not think that her stolen laundry situation is reflective of the general Penn population.
“After that incident, I have never experienced big problems with dishonesty,” Hu said. “I think it was the wrong place, wrong time.”
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