According to News Channel 8 (WTNH) in New Haven, University of Bridgeport’s North Hall has bed bugs.

Graduate student Li-Wen Chen had so many bites she sought treatment at St. Vincent’s Medical Center.

The school has fumigated the building, but students say another problem occurred when it came to their clothing. Clothes inside the dorms were sent to the cleaners courtesy of the school, but the students say when the clothes were returned, they were dumped onto tables in the lobby, damp, damaged or ruined.

Students also claim that their rooms were left in disarray following the fumigation. Georgia Chiang, a student from Taiwan, says the poor treatment from the University may stem from their ethnic backgrounds.

“It’s very disturbing. We feel insulted and discriminated against. I do not believe Americans live like this. We do not live like this back home,” said Chiang.

School officials were not available for comment.

Obviously, we don’t know what the full story is here. But it’s a helpful reminder that residents (of dorms, co-ops, apartments, hospitals, etc.) need to be fully informed about treatment and required preparations, and that universities and other management bodies need to make sure their residents’ posessions are treated with care. If residents feel this is not happening, it might make them hesitant to seek treatment if bed bugs persist or return later.

It’s also disturbing to note that bed bugs are making their way around New Haven.

• Ryerson University: a study in unenthusiastic bed bug control practices
• Boston University’s bed bugs: if we don’t talk about them, they’ll go away
• bedbugs at Stanford University dorms (again)
• More students at college finding bed bugs in their dorm rooms

ShareThis