Exonians Note Dormitory Supply Shortages

In recent months, certain dormitories have observed supply and toiletry shortages, prompting concern among students, dorm custodians and Facilities Management about material waste and the Academy’s supply process.

Prep Val Whitten has noticed a recurring absence of bathroom supplies in Bancroft Hall. “There’s been a shortage of soap, paper towels and toilet paper in my dorm. Sometimes, you have to go into other bathroom stalls to get that stuff, or it’s just not there,” Whitten said, voicing concern about potential consequences on personal hygiene.

Upper Ursula Wise noted similar shortages in Hoyt Hall. “We are often short on trash bags. You can’t really put your trash in your bin and take it out if you don’t have a trash bag—you have to carry the whole bin to the bigger trash bin and dump it all in, which is kind of gross,” she said.

At the time of his interview, Director of Facilities Management Mark Leighton was not aware of a shortage in dorm supplies, saying, “The custodians haven’t said anything, and neither have the dorm faculty or the students that live in the dorms.”

“This is the first we’ve heard that there’s been any concern with the lack of supplies in dorms,” he said.

Wentworth Dorm Head Sean Campbell noted that faculty are not always aware of shortages, as most dorm spaces are primarily used by students. “From my observation, bathroom materials are kept relatively well-stocked, but I rely on students reporting if those items run out since they are in there throughout the day, every day. The basement sink area…would be the exception, as students do report those paper towels running out frequently,” he said.

Facilities Management believes the Exeter community needs to be more aware of over-usage, in line with the Academy’s recent efforts for more environmental awareness. “The toilet paper and paper products have been flying off the shelves, and we only keep giving it,” Custodial Lead Tandra Boilard said.

Custodial Lead William Gagnon emphasized that the current level of supply use exceeds historic trends. “One dormitory, in particular, has gone through five cases of toilet paper within the past 30 days,” he said. “Historically, that building was only going through one case a month.”

Between July and September, one dorm used four cases of paper towels and seven cases of toilet paper, with twelve rolls in each case. In total, the campus has used three hundred cases of paper towels and three hundred-fifty cases of toilet paper in the calendar year.

While data suggests that paper supply use has grown at a rapid rate, overuse is not always discernible. “I am unaware of any issues of over-usage by residents, affiliates or visitors,” Campbell said.

Boilard encouraged students to be more conscious of paper use. “In some dorms, there are new paper towels. We went to a different vendor for them, so they cut differently,” she said. “I think students are not very careful when they tear it. They’re getting like three or four…But if you do really grab it with two hands, you can get [less].”

Gagnon stated that sustainability should be an institutional and community priority in all aspects of campus life. “I think most of the student body could agree that we could probably be a little bit more sustainable with a lot of the products that we use,” he said. “We’ve had the initiative, over the past couple of years, to put in hand dryers. Where there are hand dryers, you may not find paper towels anymore.”

Knight House Dorm Head and Math Instructor David Huoppi agreed, saying, “I would say we generally try to minimize wastefulness. Supplies have not been a specific target of eliminating wastefulness, although they certainly could be.”

Senior Manager of Events and Custodial Services Connie Simmons explained that the Academy employs a multi-tiered supply system. At the beginning of every month, custodians submit a list of necessary supplies for each of their designated dorms, the amount of which varies based on dormitory size. Upon reviewing each list, the custodial supervisors—or “leads”—arrange for the requested items to be delivered to each dorm from the Academy warehouse.

In the event of a mid-month shortage, custodians are expected to communicate with their leads. Gagnon explained that supervisors conduct regular closet inspections to determine if additional supplies are necessary. “When we do inspections once a month, we’ll check their storage and custodial closets and see the supplies and chemicals they have on hand,” he said. “If we feel that there’s already enough or there’s a surplus in their buildings, then we really don’t need to issue them more.”

According to Simmons, supply requests are rarely denied. “I don’t know of any regularly denied requests, and I’ve been here for over 20 years,” she said. “If it’s needed, it never gets denied.”

Custodian Alex*, however, recalled several instances when their emergency supply requests went unanswered—an account corroborated by another custodian. “I’ve found that it’s been difficult trying to get supplies…When we run out, we try to get a hold of our leads to tell them. They say, ‘Why did you run out? You shouldn’t have gone through that much,’” Alex* said.

“I know a couple of the [dorm residents] and myself have had to put ‘out of order’ signs on stalls because we have no toilet paper, not because they’re out of order,” Alex* continued.

Other custodians declined to comment to The Exonian for this report.

Boilard stated that she has not denied any custodians necessary supplies. “[The leads] have never questioned [custodial requests],” she said. “I haven’t had anybody come up to me and say they’re not getting the things that they need. No one’s ever done that.”

Gagnon added that shortages can typically be resolved without issuing more supplies. “A lot of times that containers are empty, it’s an oversight on a custodian’s part. One of the most basic tasks of the custodian’s job is to make sure that those dispensers are filled,” Gagnon said. “If we receive a work order or an email about a shortage, we’ll just go down into the custodian stock closet. The supplies are usually on hand to refill a dispenser.”

Simmons noted that chemical products are rigorously reviewed, as incorrect dilution methods can cause faster depletion. “The supervisor may go out and say, ‘Show me what’s in your closets. Is it being used properly?’ This is because chemicals are dilution controlled. They have to be used in those dilutions to work properly,” she said. “If somebody’s ordering five bottles every month, we know it’s not being mixed properly. So the supervisor may go and say, ‘This bottle should last you six months. Show me how you’re using it.’ It’s that education piece.”

Boilard added that the Academy’s recent efforts to use more eco-friendly, but purportedly less functional cleaning product has stirred discontent among custodians. “A lot of the custodians don’t like the green products. We are not allowed to use bleach here—we’ve had accidents in the past with bleach and this is to ensure everyone’s safety…The custodians don’t feel [that green products are] as effective. But if you’re not using it properly, it’s not going to be as effective,” Boilard said.

Alex* contended that requests for supplies are often denied without a clear explanation—a response that has prompted Alex* to question if the Academy is undersupplied.

Leighton noted that most toiletries and custodial supplies are stored in bulk at the Academy warehouse, managed by Russ Driscoll, and that quotas for different products are established and adjusted in accordance with usage data. “Depending on the time of year, [Simmons] will work with [warehouse staff] to…make sure we’re not finding ourselves missing supplies,” Leighton said.

Gagnon added, “[The warehouse] has never actually run out of product and not been able to get it. Anytime we need something, we can get it.”

Despite the abundance of supplies in the warehouse, Alex* has had to borrow supplies from other custodians and pay out of pocket to remedy urgent supply shortages. Other custodians who declined to be quoted on the record confirmed that denied requests are not uncommon.

Gagnon stated that a certain level of supply shortage may be inevitable, as dorm custodians do not typically work on weekends. “I think dispensers are most likely to be low on Monday mornings. Usually, for dormitories, there is limited custodial coverage on Saturdays and Sundays. Even if we put in a brand new roll of toilet paper on a Friday night, chances are it’s going to be gone or low come Monday morning,” he said.

Gagnon added that weekend activities pose additional challenges. “Students do a lot of cooking on the weekends,” he said. “Some of you guys will lounge around on the weekends and be in your dormitory common areas, more often on the weekends than during the week.”

Currently, custodians work in two shifts: dorm custodians work from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and are on call on Saturdays, while public building custodians work from 5:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. on weekdays, in addition to Sundays from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Campbell postulated that custodians may find it difficult to keep up with the rate of dormitory supply use due to their heavy workloads. “I think custodian [work] time is stretched,” he said. “They are asked to cover a lot of ground and do a lot of day-to-day work. This could mean that some things don’t get done right away.”

Simmons believes that if custodial shift hours are causing the supply shortage problem, there is a clear solution. “There’s always a custodian responsible for campus, seven days a week,” she said. “If we’re feeling that we’re falling short on a weekend, then we can correct it.”

While Alex* recalled being told by leads that budgeting concerns also account for their denial of supply requests, Leighton stated that the budget is assessed regularly and matches the Academy’s needs. “Every year, prior to submitting our annual operating budget, we perform a detailed review to make sure each budget line is appropriate,” Leighton said, adding that budget managers in the Finance Office ensure the proper use of all funds.

Chief Financial Officer Marijka Beauchesne shared that there are backup measures for excess spending. “The Director of Facilities Management manages the budget in total for operational costs. If there is an overage, this would need to be managed with savings from another area to stay within the Trustee budget in total,” Beauchesne said.

According to Boilard, flexibility in the budget has allowed for improvements in supplies. “When I first started working here, we had one-ply toilet paper. There were a lot of complaints about that, and we now have two-ply toilet paper,” she said. “We’ve bettered ourselves with that, which people are grateful for.”

While Facilities Management and the custodial staff are still working to identify and address the cause of supply shortages, all affirmed their commitment to serving Exeter students and meeting community needs. “There’s always budgeting for basic necessities such as disinfectant and paper products for students to use, for their community to use,” Gagnon said. “No matter what the budget is, we will always have money available for those products.”

“I care about all you [students]. I do the job I do because I want you guys to have what you need,” Alex* said.

*Asterisks denote name change to preserve anonymity