A white freshman girl at the University of Hartford was arrested after she rubbed used tampons on her black roommate’s bag in order to bully her into leaving.
Brianna Brochu, the freshman in question, called her black roommate Chennel “Jazzy” Rowe “Jamaican Barbie” and embarked on a long-running campaign to get rid of her roommate by a series of disgusting behaviors, including putting Rowe’s toothbrush up her rectum.
Rowe said in a Facebook video that she and her roommate had a rocky relationship; Brochu would come in and turn off the lights if Rowe was working. However, it wasn’t until she started “getting sick” that things came to a head.
“It started with throat pain,” she explained. “I thought maybe because it’s colder up here, I’m just catching a cold. After a month it got to the point where I had extreme throat pain that I couldn’t sleep, to the point where I couldn’t speak.”
“I’m spending my own money that my parents give me for food and groceries, the health centre on campus is not free – in fact they’re expensive,” she continued, describing how she had been prescribed antibiotics for the bacteria in her throat.
However, it wasn’t until Rowe finally moved out that she realized what her roommate had done, when she saw this post from Brochu on her Instagram: “Finally did it yo girl got rid of her roommate!! After 1 1/12 month of spitting in her coconut oil, putting moldy clam dip in her lotions, rubbing used tampons on her backpack, putting her toothbrush places where the sun doesn’t shine and so much more I can finally say goodbye Jamaican Barbie.”
Rowe said that she intended to file charges once the school’s public safety board had looked into the issue, but she blasted the school for how it was handling the investigation.
“[Brochu] was arrested two days ago,” she said, “Without anyone knowing and was about to go to court tomorrow without me knowing. It’s as if they are speeding up her process and trying to get rid of the issue quickly and in secret.”
University of Hartford President Greg Woodward has since released a statement on the matter, saying in part, “Let me be clear: the accused student’s behavior was reprehensible and does not reflect the values of our institution. Let me also be clear that I am confident the University has taken all steps to pursue this matter seriously, and will continue to do so.”