Mai Fukuhara
The reason I am writing is not because something special or extraordinary happened to me, but because of an occurance that is common amongst Wooster students.
At the beginning of my first semester in college, my living situation seemed to be going well. However, since around the middle of the semester, I started to notice rude notes left on my desk. This eventually escalated to my roommate spreading rumors about how “messy” I am, intentionally tarnishing my reputation. I came to feel uncomfortable in my own room and I couldn’t think of it as “my space,” but rather somewhere I was under surveillance. To make matters worse, I didn’t feel that I was being bullied because it seemed too normal, too ordinary and too common to make it a big deal.
After relaying the situation to my friends, I realized that I needed to go talk with ResLife, as well as counseling. When I went to their office, they did not treat me as someone in need of help, but as an annoyance. When I was finally able to meet with ResLife after a frustrating email chain, the staff member acted like I was a troublesome student who just wanted to complain about a roommate. The staff seemed unconcerned and initially made no effort to help and had me leave a note with my email. The next day, I received an email that said they received my note, but they made no mention to learn more about my situation and they seemed unconcerned.
I went to see a second person from ResLife and was treated as though I was a troublesome student, annoyed by something menial. Despite the gravity of the situation, the member of ResLife I spoke with started conversations with other students, laughing and talking, paying me no mind.
I understand that there are many situations in which ResLife sees students who are simply annoyed by their roommate’s habits, but this was not my case. I felt uncomfortable and unsafe each night that I went to bed. Every time I walked into the room I was anxious, wondering if there would be yet another note. Every day, I would wonder if there would be another rumor.
At a school that prides itself on its international population, I would expect them to be more attentive, to care when one of their students feels targeted. I went to ResLife for help but I was only greeted with insensitivity. To them, I was just another face in the crowd, and that’s exactly how I was treated. But I am an individual. On the first day, I was kicked out of ResLife when I sought help; Iwastheonewhohadtogoback to my room where I didn’t feel safe and spend another night there. This was my reality and my life. I should have been able to trust the school to handle these issues properly and I shouldn’t have felt like a burden when it is, quite frankly, their job to help me.
Students should be confident to speak up about the issues they are struggling with. I should know that I won’t have to suffer at the hands of my peers and that I can feel safe in my own environment. My personal well- being should not be up to ResLife and taken completely out of my hands.