Roommates living in a double in Methodist Hall face a conflict regarding the removal of their bedbugs.
Susan Chesterfield, exercise science sophomore, notified housing about the problem right after Christmas break. Chesterfield was gone, however, when exterminators arrived to take care of the problem yesterday. Her roommate, Miranda Jenkins, music theater sophomore, shooed the workers away, claiming she felt an attachment to the bugs.
“I admit I was repulsed by the bedbugs at first, but my feelings changed over the month I spent with them,” Jenkins said. “I grew closer to them as I watched them reproduce and raise their babies. I’ve named about 30 so far, but they’re honestly pretty hard to tell apart.”
Chesterfield does not feel the same way about the infestation.
“They’re mini terrorists from the pits of hell,” Chesterfield said. “I think they’ve infected Miranda’s mind. I’ve been sleeping on the couches in Alvin’s.”
Housing officials have inspected and confirmed that the Alvin’s couches are bedbug-free (though not entirely sanitary). They found Chesterfield alternative housing and are debating Jenkins’s wish to keep her new pals.
“I wouldn’t want them to spread into unsuspecting students’ rooms, but I like the idea that even nasty lil bugs have their place,” said Gerald Phillips, resident housing exterminator. “Maybe we can let her keep just a couple.”
Jenkins said she hopes other students soon realize the benefits of keeping bedbugs as pets.
“They’re little emotional support angels,” she said. “Whenever I’m being lazy, self-deprecating or start stress-eating, they bite me to keep me on track. I snuck a few into my friends’ backpacks as a surprise gift.”
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