Hello, My name is Grace Choi and I am an international student, Living
at Hale Ikena A202. Now I am working on my senior project and summer classes.
I came to UHH in 2009. I indicated that I am easily
distracted by noise when I was writing the application for the housing
in the first place and I also said I really need Japanese roommate or
at least Asian roommate OR if it is impossible, just QUIET roommate,
because I wanted to concentrate only on my grade and study not on the
argument between me and my roommate. But my request was not accepted so
far. It is understandable because I understand it is not possible to
make all student`s requests to be successful.
I lived at room B 100 which is right next to laundry room, lounge,
the Arch of Hilo office and main door. It is a pain to deal with all
the noises which you would not be able to understand if you`ve never
lived in my room; students are singing, watching movie, chatting,
screaming, yelling until 5-6am at the entrance door or lounge. It was
really painful so I went to Kauanoe office to ask if I can change the
room, and the answer was no, she said there was priority and first
priority is always local Hawaiian students, and international students
like me are considered as the very last ones. So I just came back to my room.
at Hale Ikena A202. Now I am working on my senior project and summer classes.
I came to UHH in 2009. I indicated that I am easily
distracted by noise when I was writing the application for the housing
in the first place and I also said I really need Japanese roommate or
at least Asian roommate OR if it is impossible, just QUIET roommate,
because I wanted to concentrate only on my grade and study not on the
argument between me and my roommate. But my request was not accepted so
far. It is understandable because I understand it is not possible to
make all student`s requests to be successful.
I lived at room B 100 which is right next to laundry room, lounge,
the Arch of Hilo office and main door. It is a pain to deal with all
the noises which you would not be able to understand if you`ve never
lived in my room; students are singing, watching movie, chatting,
screaming, yelling until 5-6am at the entrance door or lounge. It was
really painful so I went to Kauanoe office to ask if I can change the
room, and the answer was no, she said there was priority and first
priority is always local Hawaiian students, and international students
like me are considered as the very last ones. So I just came back to my room.
Since then,I am trying really really hard to
bear with these situations and concentrate on my study because I really
need to graduate this year.
In the final week of March, at 2am on Saturday, I was working on my paper. I was having three exams on Monday and two papers involved in my senior project and one essay they
were all due on Sunday. But then one of the girls living my next
door(B102) was totally drunken and started to sing in the hall way. I
tried my best to endure with this situation because I didn`t want to
ruin my paper. But she was keep laughing and shouting and being really
loud until 3am, and it was beyond my limit. I could not concentrate on
my final anymore, So I wanted to report it to the housing office, because the girls living in the
next doors so far, they had this issues that bullying and swearing to
Asian students(saying “fucking Asians are everywhere, go back to
your country”, etc), smoking weed at dorm, blasting music and swearing
when we ask them to close the door. I was suffering with all the issues
for the whole semester but was bearing with all that, but should I
endure more when someone`s drunken and ruining my final when I really
need to graduate? So I went out and started to record what they were
doing. Then they started to laugh at me and called me a huge bitch, and
tried to use violence to break my camera. I was scared and went to the
CC`s room and she was not there. So I came back to my room and tried to
start my paper again. Then one of the girls knocked my door and ran
away. So I came to her room and asked if she was knocking on my door.
And she and her 3 friends started to bully me and laugh at me and
swore. They said to me this is the united states of America, not your country, so they have their
freedom to do whatever they want to do, and when I tried to say
something, they just laughed and swore to me. After a while securities
came. So I told them about everything but the securities just wanted me
to go to bed, saying all dorms of universities in the US are like this.
I came to my room, the drunken girl was laughing and being loud until the sun rise. Now my precious time of final is gone like this and I am sure it effected on my grade. I am writing a letter because I
really think this is not right. One of Korean student visited the
housing office and reported her roommate for using drugs at dorm and
the answer for her was ‘every university students are like that’.
If all CCs or housing staffs just understand this kind of situations, saying it is just O.K, because all American university students are like that, then what can international students like me
learn here at UHH. We are out of our home country even if the tuition
is expensive and all because we think we could learn more beneficial things at here in the US.
If smoking weed at dorm, picking on/bullying specific race, drinking alcohols,
swearing, yelling in quiet hours; are acceptable because every student
is like that when it interrupts INNOCENT OTHERS AND EFFECT ON THEIR
GRADE, why housing policy is exist? Or should I just let it go and
endure with this situation like I did so far? Because this is the U.S?
bear with these situations and concentrate on my study because I really
need to graduate this year.
In the final week of March, at 2am on Saturday, I was working on my paper. I was having three exams on Monday and two papers involved in my senior project and one essay they
were all due on Sunday. But then one of the girls living my next
door(B102) was totally drunken and started to sing in the hall way. I
tried my best to endure with this situation because I didn`t want to
ruin my paper. But she was keep laughing and shouting and being really
loud until 3am, and it was beyond my limit. I could not concentrate on
my final anymore, So I wanted to report it to the housing office, because the girls living in the
next doors so far, they had this issues that bullying and swearing to
Asian students(saying “fucking Asians are everywhere, go back to
your country”, etc), smoking weed at dorm, blasting music and swearing
when we ask them to close the door. I was suffering with all the issues
for the whole semester but was bearing with all that, but should I
endure more when someone`s drunken and ruining my final when I really
need to graduate? So I went out and started to record what they were
doing. Then they started to laugh at me and called me a huge bitch, and
tried to use violence to break my camera. I was scared and went to the
CC`s room and she was not there. So I came back to my room and tried to
start my paper again. Then one of the girls knocked my door and ran
away. So I came to her room and asked if she was knocking on my door.
And she and her 3 friends started to bully me and laugh at me and
swore. They said to me this is the united states of America, not your country, so they have their
freedom to do whatever they want to do, and when I tried to say
something, they just laughed and swore to me. After a while securities
came. So I told them about everything but the securities just wanted me
to go to bed, saying all dorms of universities in the US are like this.
I came to my room, the drunken girl was laughing and being loud until the sun rise. Now my precious time of final is gone like this and I am sure it effected on my grade. I am writing a letter because I
really think this is not right. One of Korean student visited the
housing office and reported her roommate for using drugs at dorm and
the answer for her was ‘every university students are like that’.
If all CCs or housing staffs just understand this kind of situations, saying it is just O.K, because all American university students are like that, then what can international students like me
learn here at UHH. We are out of our home country even if the tuition
is expensive and all because we think we could learn more beneficial things at here in the US.
If smoking weed at dorm, picking on/bullying specific race, drinking alcohols,
swearing, yelling in quiet hours; are acceptable because every student
is like that when it interrupts INNOCENT OTHERS AND EFFECT ON THEIR
GRADE, why housing policy is exist? Or should I just let it go and
endure with this situation like I did so far? Because this is the U.S?
I can't believe that you had such terrible experiences. I'm an international student too, and sometimes it is difficult to understanding each behavior. But I think it is important to respect each other even we are different races.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you being an international student myself.
ReplyDeleteThat is really shocking to hear that even after being bullied or witnessing such behavior at the school dorm, the housing staff and the security guards "ignored" your complaint and pretended like those behavior were okay. First of all, bullying is not okay and the University of Hawaii at Hilo does not discriminate, that is why there are students from different backgrounds, groups, cultures, ethnicities, etc. here trying to learn. Just hang in there and be strong.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you were bullied. More so, i can't believe your complaints were ignored based on the excuse of "all dorms of universities in the US are like this." No college student should go through this.
ReplyDeleteI don't live at the dorms. However, because i live at an apartment where tenants are often loud and smoking marijuana, i understand how hard it is to focus on studying.
I have lived in the first year of college and had such a rude awakening to the life that we call "college experience". I had a roommate that always acted as a child and he would actually try and pay our other roommate or myself to do some of the chores because he lacked the ability to do it for himself. The COMPLETE OPPOSITE that i have asked for in a roommate. Not to mention that same roommate gave me crap about my sexual orientaion and nothing was done. Despite all of the so called harassment protections and so fourth that the university says that it has. ><
ReplyDeleteWow i'm sorry for the annoyances you had to endure last semester... but if anything those types of things make you stronger and thats awesome you were able to stick up for yourself. But, that is typical life in the dorms.... loud, parties and kids stoked to be able to do whatever they want out of mommy and daddies house. Could you have gotten a quieter house off campus?
ReplyDeleteI am on the same page. Coming from a different place and different lifestyle of how we regard respect as important or less important...I had the same problems living at University Palms...I felt like a new world attacking my privacy and noise around was just disturbance to my studies... I'm glad you stepped up and ask for "change"
ReplyDeleteThat makes the three of us. I mean, we all understand that this is college where party sometimes go wild but we just sometimes have to let them be because maybe its a special occasion that's why they're partying. However, if their like doing that consecutively, what else to say but to "man up/step up" and ask for quietness. If not, then that's why there are securities are here for.
ReplyDelete