At Texas A&M, It’ll Be BYOTP

By Tim Taliaferro in Blog on July 23, 2010 at 9:17 am | 4 Comments

Budgetarily, these are indeed desperate times. And over in the bathroom stalls of College Station, they may lead to some desperate people.

Needing to cut $2.2 million from its operating budget, A&M’s Student Affairs unit has proposed ceasing to stock toilet paper in some residence hall restrooms.

Leaving rolls empty in bathrooms shared by up to four people would save A&M $82,000 per year. Larger bathrooms in dorms, offices, and administrative would still offer users TP. 

The potential move would leave 6,000 of the 10,000 Aggies who live on campus high and, uh, dry.

Faced with “can’t you spare a square?” jokes, A&M’s spokeswoman tried to cut the nonsense.

“We looked at what areas we can cut and not negatively affect our students’ academics, and it was that,” said Sherylon Carroll, associate vice president for communications. 

One student predicted the move would prompt his fellows to move their business elsewhere.

“It’s going to make people resort to going where there is toilet paper on campus and taking it from there,” Daniel Overstreet told the campus newspaper.

Others said they’d be happy to BYOTP, choosing brands that offered more “coverage” and “comfort” than the institutional stuff.