Toward the end of the fall semester, UVA Housing and Residence (HRL) informed Old Dorms residents that starting in January 2022, they would no longer have access to paper towels in the hall bathrooms (their explanation being that paper towels were a temporary COVID mitigation decision since hand dryers have a high potential to spread pathogens.)

As residents of Old Dorms, we object to this decision for the following reasons:

Spread of pathogens: If HRL has concluded that hand dryers are unsanitary, why would it be a good idea to remove paper towels, especially as the spread of any sickness (not just COVID) is easy in a communal living environment? Why is HRL intentionally putting students at an increased risk of exposure to pathogens, regardless of pandemic status? 
Hygiene: Since paper towels were removed, Old Dorms bathrooms have become filthy. Whereas students used to clean up after themselves habitually, now in the absence of paper towels, the sinks are caked with toothpaste, hair, hair-dye, and bodily fluids among others. These are left for the custodial staff to clean, which is unnecessary and unfair to them. 
Noise: Hand dryers are extremely loud. They’re probably not what you want to hear if you go to use the bathroom late at night, and not what you want to hear nonstop if you live next to the bathroom.
Convenience: We all know that hand dryers just don’t work that well.

The explanation given by the director of operations is that paper towels were removed to reach certain sustainability goals. It’s odd, however, that these same sustainability goals don’t apply to printing at UVA libraries, based on the infographics we’ve all seen on every printer about why paper is in fact sustainable. Paper towels are a negligible part of UVA’s vast environmental impact, and we do not consent to UVA attempting to reach its sustainability goals by decreasing our standard of living. Thus, we ask that all hall-style first-year dorms are supplied with paper towels permanently.