Toilet paper problem reveals low quality of student life

When asked, early in her freshman year, what she missed most about life at home, Becky Quintal '07 couldn't think of her parents or home-cooked food. Instead, she instinctively blurted, "Good toilet paper."

As Becky points out, the low quality of the toilet tissue on campus means that a routine trip to the bathroom down the hall could lead to a "disgusting and unfortunate situation." Building Services' decision to stock University bathrooms with one-ply toilet paper forces Princeton undergrads to fold over or face the often ugly consequences. After a failed pilot program in 1998, which brought two-ply to the students of one lucky dorm in an attempt to test the fiscal feasibility of thicker tissue, the University has come down solidly behind one-ply. It seems that the costs of the two-ply coupled with the associated increases in clogged toilets led the department to decide in favor of maintaining a one-ply system. But many students, citing a host of unnecessary University expenditures and a per-capita endowment unparalleled by peer institutions, reject this argument.

"This is Princeton," said Kean Tonetti '06. "We have a garden that's worth over a million dollars and the best we can do is one-ply? I don't think so."

Another student noted that, for the amount of money his parents send Princeton every year, quality of life issues such as toilet paper should be taken seriously. "I can think of 40,000 reasons why we should have two-ply," complained Bradford Stevens '08. "I go home and it feels like I'm wiping with silk. It's just ridiculous."

Still others doubt the logic of Building Services' theory. "If we had two-ply, I'd use half as much," remarked freshman Rachel Crane. "How can it possibly be economical?"

A growing number of students, like Julie Bruno '07, are taking matters into their own hands — or, rather, trying to ensure that their hands remain matter-free. The sophomore returned to campus recently after a weekend at home toting a 12-pack of Charmin Ultra. "Seriously, it's ridiculous that we don't have two-ply," Julie says. "Do you even know how many people buy their own now? I have so many friends doing it."

Maybe Julie and her friends should have gone to Yale. Building officials there instituted a change to two-ply in 1999 in response to a push from the Yale College Council and overwhelming student support. The same thing went down at Harvard the year before, after a column calling for the cushier tissue ran in The Crimson and the Undergraduate Council took up the cause.

But here at Princeton, the administration hasn't caught up with a student body increasingly in favor of an amendment to the toilet paper policy. If things like this affected our US News ranking, or if cushier toilet paper could be proven to effectively lower our grades, maybe Nassau Hall and West College would take notice. As it is, the administration seems to be comfortable turning a blind eye to a problem that is plaguing so many undergraduates.

But if the student body actually committed to getting two-ply toilet paper in our bathroom stalls, we can likely bypass the University administration entirely and achieve this through the USG. As it was at Harvard and Yale, the often-lambasted student government would seem to be the logical avenue for addressing this problem. And while the USG hasn't seriously debated the tissue-issue since it last appeared on the agenda in 1999, current student representatives show at least some signs of receptiveness to reviving this as an important concern of the campus community.

"You know, I too buy my own toilet paper and bring it with me to the bathroom," said USG Vice President Jesse Creed '07. "And I definitely think the redness and soreness that one-ply toilet paper causes harms the University's academic environment. Two-ply would particularly make those hard McCosh Hall seats more comfortable"

If USG President Leslie Bernard Joseph wants to create a day of community service, he should be willing to support a policy that would actively serve our community day in and day out. If the USG wants to continue inching in the right direction, addressing the real quality-of-life issues that students care about, then it should take up this cause and bring two-ply to University stalls for next year. But if nothing is done, then potential candidates for future USG office should note: when searching for a campaign issue that resonates, all you have to do is start at the bottom. Danny Shea is a sophomore from Wayne, N. J. He can be reached at dshea@princeton.edu.