Opinion Board | A refreshing change

It's a new year and students and laundry-service provider Mac-Gray are off to a fresh start.

The new machines, which were first implemented in Mayer Hall last year for a trial run, will be installed in the rest of the College Houses by the end of the month.

The transition to the new washers has already taken place in most dorms and students should be happy with the changes.

The washers use less detergent, are more intuitive and offer users more settings and washing options. There's even a "super-cycle" option which washes laundry loads for a significantly extended time in exchange for only a quarter more.

The dryers, crucially, actually work and don't scam students into paying for two cycles of drying when it should only take one.

And, as Penn students and the University become more environmentally conscious, it's nice to see Mac-Gray jumping on the green bandwagon.

"It is estimated that we will save 4,200,000 gallons of water per year and use 47.85 percent less energy," Conference Services spokeswoman Dana Matkevich told the DP last week.

So why did Mac-Gray make the changes?

If you believe Gordon Rickards, Housing's contract-management director, one of the primary reasons was student complaints.

Last week, we blasted Aramark and Penn Dining for failing to take our complaints and concerns seriously. Granted, Mac-Gray is in the last year of its contract with Penn and the outdated machines were in dire need of replacement.

But give Mac-Gray credit.

Their motives may not be purely altruistic, but it's refreshing to see a large corporation be proactive and responsive to students and administration.

Mac-Gray has earned their contract renewal and Penn should recognize this come June.

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