Harvard College Raises Student Activities Fee to Mandatory $450 To Fund Free Laundry

Dean of Harvard College David J. Deming announced in an email to the College that laundry will be free for all undergraduates, financed by an increase in the Student Activities Fee to $450.

Free laundry service will take effect January 1, 2026, after years of student complaints, and the higher SAF will first be paid by students at the start of next fall. The rise marks a $250 jump from last year, and the College will require students to pay the previously optional charge, according to Deming’s email.

The SAF is currently used to distribute funds to House Committees and the Harvard Undergraduate Association, as well as host the College’s two annual concerts, Crimson Jam and Yardfest. Some of the increase will also go toward student groups and activities, in addition to laundry service.

In recent years, a growing number of students have decided to opt out of the fee — resulting in a $70,000 hit to SAF funding in fiscal year 2024. Last October, the Dean of Students Office paid more than $43,000 to maintain the same level of student activities funding after 959 students opted out of paying the SAF for the 2024-2025 school year. This year, 932 students opted out.

“Each year, an increasing number of students opt out of paying the activities fee, which puts increased budgetary pressure on student groups and house committees and leads to necessary changes like increasing laundry fees,” Deming wrote in the email.

The SAF is currently not covered by financial aid. Deming wrote in his email that the College “will work to ensure that this change does not materially increase costs for students receiving financial aid.”

A College spokesperson declined to provide further information on how Harvard will prevent the mandatory SAF from raising costs for students on financial aid.

“100% of the increase in the Student Activities Fee” will be used to increase funding for House Committees and student organizations, according to Deming’s email.

Laundry revenue previously contributed half a million dollars to House Committee budgets. By Anwen Cao

This spring semester, the DSO distributed $7,950 to each House Committee to fund events. Revenue from laundry — which totaled $500,000 during the 2024-2025 academic year, according to Deming’s email — is pooled together and distributed to House Committees.

Earlier this semester, the cost of laundry rose by 25 cents per load after the College switched to payment systems through the One Tap Away app.

In an October interview with The Crimson, Dean of Students Dean Thomas G. Dunne said that providing free laundry was a priority for Deming as he entered his new role as College dean.

“It was something that he kept hearing be referenced, and so it’s something that he’s asked me to look at and say, what exactly are the opportunities here,” Dunne said.

Free laundry is not the only student service project initiated by Deming in his new deanship. Harvard University Dining Services rolled out a slew of changes in dining halls this fall, including the addition of hot sandwiches to the breakfast menu. According to Dunne, the breakfast sandwich addition emerged from conversations between the two deans in Deming’s “first week or two in the role.”

“I believe this change will streamline College student costs, provide a fairer and more sustainable funding source for student activities, and lead to a better overall student experience,” Deming wrote in his email.

—Staff writer Darcy G Lin can be reached at darcy.lin@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Harmony G. Fisher can be reached at harmony.fisher@thecrimson.com.