University of São Paulo: Crusp will have a collective laundry to serve almost 1,500 residents

This Thursday, January 20, the new space that will host the Lavanderia do Conjunto Residencial da USP (Crusp) was inaugurated, located on the ground floor of Block E.

The 400-square-meter space was completely renovated and suitable for 19 sets of washing machines and dryers – one of which will be installed in a way to facilitate use by wheelchair users – and will have the capacity to serve Crusp’s nearly 1,500 residents.

“In these four years, we worked hard for the University to fulfill its role of training people well, so that they can improve the living conditions of their families, reducing social inequality. This Laundry, as well as other improvements we have made, offers better conditions for students to stay. We cannot have within USP the same inequality that exists in the country”, explains vice-rector Antonio Carlos Hernandes.

The Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Edmund Chada Baracat, recalled that “the inclusion process began a few years ago, when the University approved not only social quotas but also racial quotas. Today, USP is much more diverse, much more inclusive, which shows that it is not enough to just talk, we have to do it”.

The project is an initiative of the Vice-Rectory, in partnership with the Superintendence of Social Assistance (SAS), and also had the participation of representatives of the Central Directory of Students (DCE) in the definition of the physical space.

The renovation of the Laundry was an urgent demand from Crusp’s residents as the old facilities were quite deteriorated. “Student permanence is a fundamental point for the University’s inclusion process and has become an increasingly urgent agenda, especially after the approval of quotas. Since we took over, we from the Nossa Voz management brought several of these demands to the directors, who understood the situation. This Laundry is one of our achievements”, emphasizes the director of DCE Livre at USP, Ana Luísa Tibério.

Now, with the renovation of the space completed, the bidding process begins to equip the Laundry. As the Superintendent of Social Assistance, Gerson Yukio Tomanari, explains, “the contracting model chosen for the Laundry is the contracting of services, that is, instead of buying the equipment, we will hire a company that will install the machines, do the maintenance and will provide the inputs. We will pay for the service used and students will be free of charge”.

The bidding process has already started. The rules for the use of space have not yet been defined.