Students living in some NIU residence halls may be curious as to why no sanitary soap dispensers are provided in floor bathrooms.

Neptune East resident Michael Guglielmo is one such inquiring mind.

Guglielmo, former president of floor four odd east, said he brought the issue to the attention of both Hall Director Margaret Phillips and Roger Ruden, Health Department State engineer.

“It struck me as being a terrible inconvenience,” Guglielmo said. “In the two years that I’ve been here I haven’t seen one dispenser in our bathroom.”

Guglielmo’s floor has two bathrooms catering to approximately 50 residents, which prompted Ruden to initially conclude the absence of soap dispensers was in violation of state health codes.

“I spoke with the county health board, as well as NIU officials, and found that because the dorm bathrooms are not categorically public, there was no violation,” Ruden said.

He said students sign contracts before entering the residence halls requiring them to provide their own toiletries, which exonorates the university’s responsibility.

“It’s not a public access bathroom in the sense that a restroom at a service station is,” Ruden said. “People aren’t coming off the street.”