Chennel Rowe, a student at the University of Hartford in Connecticut, had a sore throat for a month following the start of her first year. Soon, she found a possible source of this illness: There was period blood and mold on her things, Buzzfeed reports.
Her roommate, Brianna Brochu, wrote on Instagram that she'd been "spitting in her coconut oil, putting moldy clam dip in her lotions, rubbing used tampons oh [sic] her backpack, putting her toothbrush places where the sun doesn't shine, and so much more."
Rowe moved out after finding her things damaged, prompting Brochu to write, "I can finally say goodbye to Jamaican Barbie."
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Rowe complained to the school, but the investigation took forever, she explained in a Facebook video. "The fact that I'm black and my old roommate was white...If the roles was switched, I want to know if it would be handled the same way," she said.
On Wednesday, November 1, university president Greg Woodward announced in an email to the community that Brochu had been expelled. "There has been an outpouring of concern for the victim of these acts from across the University and the country. In my meeting with her yesterday, I reiterated my personal commitment to ensuring she has all available personal and academic resources the University can provide," it reads. "It is clear there is work to be done at our University to ensure that all students feel safe, respected, and valued."
Brochu has turned herself in to the police and was charged with "breach of peace and criminal mischief," according to the Hartford Courant. Police are also recommending a charge of "intimidation based on bigotry or bias."
She told the police that she had spread bodily fluids on Rowe's backpack and licked her plate and utensils, but the rest of the things she wrote about were jokes. She said she "began to lash out due to a ‘hostile environment’ caused by [the victim’s] rude behavior, not compromising, and posting Snapchat videos of me sleeping and making fun of me snoring."
A judge ruled on Wednesday that she could not reenter the campus or have further contact with Rowe.