Beyond the hill | When bed bugs bite

BU student battles with school during abroad experience

By: Katie Keating

Posted: 10/15/07

A Boston University student received too large a welcoming committee while studying abroad in London this summer.

A BU junior, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of being banned from studying abroad, was excited to be living in a posh area of London. Yet after spending the first night in her dorm, she and her roommate from Newbury College began to see bites on their legs. Over time, the bites grew in size and number.

"My legs were so grotesque that I started to use concealer on my legs," she said.

The junior thought it might be bedbugs and asked maintenance to fix the problem while she was away for a weekend. When she returned, her room smelled like chemicals, but her bed looked untouched.

"My roommate told me that they didn't change my sheets. They didn't change my mattress. They didn't change anything. They just basically sprayed Raid everywhere," the junior said.

The Daily Free Press, BU's independent student newspaper, broke the story Oct. 4.

The junior's account is contrary to actions and policies described by Alison Campbell, BU's associate director of British Programmes, and Colin Reilly, director of Media Relations for the school.

"The staff housekeepers sprayed and changed the bed linens the day the students complained," Reilly said.

Paul Shoemaker, the program supervisor for the environmental health in Boston, described bedbugs as a nondiscriminatory nuisance comparable to mosquitoes.

"We've found bedbugs everywhere from five-star hotels to student apartments," Shoemaker said.

The actions taken by BU's London staff deviate from what Shoemaker said should be done to eliminate bedbugs. Ideally, pesticides should be sprayed individually on furniture and clothing. The process should be repeated the following week, he said.

The BU junior claims that while the situation was unfolding, Campbell, the program director, avoided her requests to meet, her parents' phone calls and she said that another administrator hung up on her parents.

The student also said that Campbell told others that her wounds were self-inflicted, she was lying and seemingly threatened her by saying study abroad programs do not take well to complainers.

Campbell described her job as providing the best possible experience for students while abroad. To her, mistreating a student would conflict with her duties.

"I could not more categorically deny it," Campbell said.

The situation was handled by the administration in a timely and effective manner, Campbell said.

"As far as I know, the students saw me when they asked to see me," Campbell said.

Initially, the BU junior woke up with significantly fewer bites, but the problem worsened during the week.

One morning, she was able to take pictures of the bugs.

"I look around and I see them and they are everywhere," she said, recounting the incident. "And the bites are everywhere. And this time, they are on my chest and on my face."

She called the program's headquarters to complain during the weekend, but they informed her that nothing could be cleaned, as it was a Sunday. The head of the program, Campbell, could not be called because the situation did not qualify as a serious emergency.

Eventually, a secretary was sent and confirmed there was a problem.

"She did confirm this information, but at the same time, they said that she wasn't an expert and that her opinion didn't matter, even though I had pictures of the bugs," the junior said.

The student and her roommate were moved to housing normally reserved for faculty. They remained there for the remainder of the summer.

Meanwhile, the room was vacuumed, sprayed and the sheets and mattresses were changed, Reilly said. The staff at the dormitory recommended fumigation.

"The exterminator reported finding no evidence of infestation, but staff went ahead with fumigation as a precaution," Reilly said.

The student said no one wants to admit there were bedbugs in the dorm despite all of the symptoms, the secretary's confirmation and her own pictures.

"I even went to a pharmacist, and he took one look and said, 'bedbugs,'" she said.

Reilly did not admit that the problem was caused by bedbugs and that the administration has no proof.

"They were never identified as bedbugs," Reilly said. "It doesn't mean we are disputing it - just that it was never identified as that."

The BU program in London had an incident with bedbugs a decade ago. There had been no further complaints until now.

Reilly said that in any case, students should write a letter or ask for an opportunity to speak with administrators to discuss conflicts. He said the student did not take the proper steps.

Reilly called the Oct. 4 article in The Daily Free Press bad journalism. He said it made allegations previously unknown to administrators and maligned individuals, causing the situation to be overblown.

"It shouldn't have been a front-page story here at Boston University," Reilly said.