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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Columbia Barnard chapter.
Shampoo stealer
  • She accused me of using her shampoo because it was running out faster than she thought.
Drunk Shenanigans
  • She accused facilities workers of stealing her jewelry that she probably just misplaced because she was drunk.
  • Took up half the freezer with a gallon of vodka.
Food problems
  • Left a half-eaten banana out all day which caused a terrible gnat infestation. When I made apple cider vinegar traps for them, she dumped out the traps and threw all the containers on my bed.
  • Never paid me back for groceries (we’re talking hundreds of dollars worth of food) and then stole my food when she moved out.
Emotional conflict
  • I told her I thought I might be manic and she got upset because she had been tracking her mood and talked to her therapist about potentially experiencing hypomania (because apparently, we both couldn’t have bipolar disorder). She was a psychology major, by the way. 
  • Literally just couldn’t interact with me without yelling/being incredibly rude and patronizing
  • “If you’re gonna act like a child I will treat you as such.”
  • “I would advise you to not provoke me because I can make your life a living hell, and I’m really encouraged to do so at this point.” 
  • This didn’t happen to me, but it happened to a family member of mine. She attended Texas Tech and had a schizophrenic and bipolar roommate. Which was fine most of the time except for when she decided to not take her meds. One day my family member came back to her room to find that the door was locked and her roommate was screaming (this part of the story is fuzzy for me because I heard about it one to two years ago) and having a mental breakdown. My family member then called the RA and 911. They were able to get the door open and get the roommate some help. I think my family member lived by herself after that.
cat-sitting gone wrong
  • Kept picking up my cat even though she was resisting (she really doesn’t like being picked up) AND I told him not to. Then locked her in his room and got mad when I came in and took her.
  • She made me babysit her cat every other night & then would give me shit about my sleep schedule. her cat didn’t let me sleep. I also struggle with chronic severe depression which she, a psychology major mind you, was well aware of.
toothbrush theif
  • Walked to the bathroom in my suite to brush my teeth. Couldn’t find my toothbrush and texted my roommates to ask if they had seen it. Turns out one of my roommates had been using my toothbrush for an unknown amount of time because it looked like hers. She had brought my toothbrush to her friend’s room for a sleepover.
bathroom problems
  • I was using the bathroom (we lived in a studio double) while she was out for a run. I was having some issues, so it was taking a bit and I was still in there when she got back. she immediately demanded I let her use the bathroom to shower (no she didn’t even have to pee) and was banging on the door screaming at me for like 20 minutes until telling me she didn’t care if I was on the toilet, she would be coming in to shower anyway. I told her I wasn’t comfortable with that and she didn’t care, I could hear her walking toward the door so I locked it and she flipped out (even more). Because the toilet was right next to the door, had I not locked the door, she would have hit me in the legs.
unavailable roomie
  • I was randomly assigned a roommate for the summer semester because none of my friends were taking summer classes. She hid in her room the entire time, we never talked once, occasionally would hear her screaming at someone on the phone, and I opened the freezer one day to see she had stashed pot there. So bizarre.
Mahati Shastry

Columbia Barnard '24

Mahati is a junior at Barnard who is excited to experience the wonder that is NYC. She loves reading, writing, and spending time outdoors.