As many students are aware, Bowling Green State University is not responsible for anyone's lost or stolen items. This includes students' laundry. According to Susan Fitzgerald's' article "Laundry Security – College Survival", "students report theft from college laundry rooms every year." There are numerous cases of reported laundry theft on each and every college campus. Although this crime may not seem as severe as others, according to Ian Sacks, laundry has "the same potential for theft and the same monetary losses as any more coveted item" such as a laptop or other electronic device. I feel that in order to stop laundry theft on college campuses, students should be required to bring a lock to put on in-use washers and dryers. By doing so, students protect themselves from not only laundry theft, but also the stress that comes along with it.
In order to make washers and dryers safer for students laundry, each BGSU student should be required to purchase a universal lock to put on the washer or dryer that they are using. Each student would be allowed to purchase one lock at the beginning of the year, and the serial number and combination would be recorded along with the students' name. Each washer and dryer would have two small pieces of metal welded to it, one on the machine itself and one on its' door. Each piece of metal would have a hole through the middle of it, turning each machine into somewhat of a "locker". This would allow students to place the lock through the holes in the metal and assure that their laundry would not be stolen. The benefits of this idea would be that it reduces the already large amount of stress that is put on BGSU students, as well as preventing laundry theft. Students will have the peace of mind once again knowing that their clothes will be right where they left them. .
Although this plan would cause a definite decrease in laundry theft, I feel that there would still be some people who wouldn't like to do this.
