This seems like a stupid way to save money to me: from Inside HigherEd, “Texas A&M Can’t Spare a Square.” Here’s a quote:
It’s no surprise that universities have been eliminating extras in order to tighten budgets, but getting rid of toilet paper might really stink. Texas A&M University, which is trying to cut $60 million campuswide, hopes to save $82,000 by ceasing to stock the bathroom essential in dormitories.
“We looked at what areas can we cut and not negatively affect our students’ academics, and it was that,” said Sherylon Carroll, associate vice president for communications.
“[T]oilet paper will no longer be provided in residence hall bathrooms shared by up to four people; the university will continue to supply it in larger bathrooms, administrative office areas, and public areas.”
Is that really that big a deal? A bathroom shared by four people or fewer is a private bathroom — why should the university supply toilet paper to them?
I agree with cmadler. Why should the university provide bathroom tissue for students in their dorms? Maybe they should provide it to off campus students as well, if they are going to put it in private rooms. Makes sense to me.
I’d even be fine with leaving it out of public restrooms. People can and will adapt to carrying tissues around with them.
To me, it kind of depends on what you see the dorms as being. Since they don’t generally have kitchens and are smaller than off-campus apartments, they are sort if in a space that is not quite the same as an apartment. So in that sense, it seems to me that if students are going to be paying what they pay, some toilet paper isn’t out of the question. Plus in the grand scheme of things, it ain’t going to save Texas A&M a lot of money.
Times have changed though. When I was living in the dorms 26 or so years ago, we even had “housekeeping” come in and empty our trash cans from out of our rooms. Of course, there were no “suites;” the toilets were down the hall, and the showers were down the stairs….