BU tells some students to BYO soap

Boston University junior Melissa Barragan was watching a movie with her friend in the German House on Bay State Road and, when she went to use the communal bathroom down the hall, her friend handed her a bottle of hand soap and a towel to take with her.
Students living in dorm-style brownstones said BU does not provide hand soap or paper towels for their publicly used bathrooms, which they said could pose a health risk.
‘They’re not allowing their students to be healthy in the sense of being clean when they don’t provide paper towels and soap,’ Barragan, a School of Education junior, said. ‘They may not think it’s such a big deal, but when it comes to being sick, it is a big deal.’
Barragan, who lives at 195 Bay State Road, said there was a bathroom outside her room last year that never had soap. It was occasionally frequented by BU Buildings and Grounds workers, which bothered Barragan and her roommate because she and her roommate used it when their private bathroom was occupied.
‘There was no soap in that bathroom, and it would aggravate me, and it would make me think about the uncleanliness that comes out of the bathroom when a person leaves without washing their hands,’ she said.
Barragan said she thinks that, because BU pushes its students to be health conscious, it needs to address this issue. She and other students pay a lot on room and board to have to also pay for these ‘small details’ for a communal facility as well, she said.
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Gabrielle Krumins said everyone on her floor at 192 Bay State gave $5 to buy soap for their public bathrooms.
‘I’m a germophobe, so it bothers me if there’s no soap,’ she said. ‘I’m sure it would probably be a health risk.’
Hand washing is ‘essential’ for students to stay healthy and avoid the norovirus this winter, and students should ‘wash their hands after using the bathroom, before and after eating and frequently during the day,’ Student Health Services Director David McBride said in an email.
BU is trying to publicize the need for students to be healthy and wash their hands, because the university is always concerned with the safety and health of its students, BU spokesman Colin Riley said.
The dorm-style brownstones have never been provided with soap and paper towels, however, and students need to be responsible for their own hygiene, Riley said.
‘There are individual responsibilities that people need to practice good hygiene and be a good member of the community on their floor and in their student residence,’ he said. ‘It makes sense [not to provide soap and paper tower dispensers] so there’s not more clutter.
‘When we have a communal bathroom where a large number of students use it, these items are provided,’ he said.
The Office of Housing and the Office of Residence Life declined to comment.