A Ryors Hall resident has collected over 500 petition signatures asking the university to put two-ply toilet paper in bathrooms across campus.
Conner Sweeney, a freshman studying mechanical engineering and who some now know as the “2Ply Guy,” originally created the petition to joke about the state of the men’s restrooms in Ryors Hall.
Since then, his petition has “spiraled out of control, but in a good way,” morphing into a semi-legitimate call for better toilet paper across campus, he said.
“We used it as a way to meet everyone in our building … and then we went to Nelson (Dining Hall) and got almost 200 signatures in one night,” he said.
Now, after a week of petitioning in dining halls and around campus, Sweeney and the rest of his “2Ply Party” have collected hundreds of signatures in favor of higher quality toilet paper in university buildings.
Sweeney hopes that by the end of the month, he will have collected over a thousand signatures on his petition. He believes having evidence of students backing his position will make the university more likely to hear his case.
“I’ve always thought that … it’s a lot easier to say no to one person than it (would be) with even just 500 people,” he said. “I guess that’s the point of petitions.”
But the push for better toilet paper is only the start, Sweeney said. He would like to see the university improve restrooms more thoroughly, like installing urinals in the men’s bathrooms in Ryors Hall.
“I can’t expect them to redo all the bathrooms on campus,” he said. “That’s a stretch. But I don’t know, I feel like going to the bathroom should be a nice, relaxing experience.”
Since he arrived on campus, Sweeney has been using the petition as an easy way to make new friends. It gives him an excuse to talk to random people, and because he isn’t a “big party person,” it is an alternative to meeting people on Mill Street, he said.
The entire experience has allowed Sweeney to meet people he otherwise would have never known, he said. He is already bumping into people who had signed his petition around campus.
“It's just a good way to get your name out there,” he said. “Some people don't remember my name. They just call me the ‘2Ply Guy.’ It's really it's really awesome when you run into the people again, and they remember who you are.”
Sweeney is also planning on joining both Student Senate and hall council, and hopes that his newfound grassroots campaign experience will help his career in student government. He would like to make the push for better restrooms his mission for the next four years, he said.
“For at least two years, I’ll be living on campus. I don’t want it to be a home away from home, I want it to be my home,” Sweeney said. “I would like to come to school and use toilet paper that isn't the same toilet paper that you can use at Walmart.”
