Student’s Lawsuit: Roommate Had ‘Disturbingly’ Open Sex Life

Dave_Berry · 03-02-2012, 01:37 PM

"A college student from New York is suing Stonehill College in Massachusetts, saying her roommate’s sex life drove her into a suicidal depression and that the school did nothing to address her concerns.

The student, Lindsay Blankmeyer, alleges that her roommate, 'Laura,' was 'having online and actual sex right in front of her,' according to the court complaint.

'More disturbingly, Laura would have sex with her boyfriend while Lindsay was trying to sleep just a few feet away. Laura would also engage in sexually inappropriate video chatting when Lindsay was in the room,' the complaint read.

Blankmeyer suffered from depression and Attention Deficit Disorder when she enrolled at Stonehill in September of 2007. She said she wanted to see how she would perform in school 'without any sort of additional help in the form of a reasonable accommodation.'" ...

Stonehill College Student From NY Suing School Over Roommate's 'Disturbingly' Open Sex Life CBS New York

icedragon · 03-02-2012, 03:59 PM

And.... why didn't she go to the RA?

romanigypsyeyes · 03-02-2012, 04:16 PM

^Did you read the article?

Quote:

After the resident assistant apparently told Blankmeyer’s roommate, Laura, to provide advance notice of guests visiting the room and to “video chat in the common area,” according to the complaint.

Blankmeyer was given additional housing options, which did not meet her satisfaction. She and her parents asked if she could have her old dorm room back minus her roommate

She was provided alternatives. She chose not to take them. I'm guessing the school didn't feel she needed that after completing years without one (as it said it was her last semester by the time she moved back home... I'm assuming she didn't live in a hotel for years). Also, the school might not have had any empty singles in the middle of the year- most schools don't.

I don't think she has grounds to sue on. You can't change your mind about living arangments halfway through the year and deny all the ones offered to you except the ones YOU think are suitable. It just doesn't work like that.

Elleneast · 03-02-2012, 04:45 PM

We don't know what the school offered her as alternatives....it is possible that they truly were unacceptable. After the semester begins housing/roommate-wise the pickings can be rather slim.

romanigypsyeyes · 03-02-2012, 04:49 PM

^ You're right, it is possible. But from the sound of it (going off the article), she wanted a single or nothing and that simply wasn't going to (or couldn't) happen.

Elleneast · 03-02-2012, 05:34 PM

I suspect it was a combination of the roommate not being terribly sensitive and the young girl's issues keeping her from being able to negotiate on her own without feeling a great deal of anxiety. My D went through the roommate with a boyfriend practically living in the room topped off with sex in the middle of the night while she was trying to sleep nightmare (pun intended). Under normal circumstances and with two reasonable people you can usually hammer out satisfactory compromises.

I suspect that by the time the student in the article realized that she should have asked for accommodations it was too late to get a single. More than likely the parents stepped in at that point. Boom, lawyers are involved.

I'm not blaming anyone. The girl probably thought that she was ready to be a "regular" college student and it wasn't until she had a roommate issue that she realized she needed a little help. The parents became involved and it still wasn't resolved to their satisfaction. Maybe they were being unreasonable, maybe not. It is a typical roommates having to figure out how to live together story gone awry.

Lookin4ward · 03-03-2012, 12:38 PM

Typical. Sounds like someone doesn't know how to deal with life issues.

All she had to do was, when the said event occurred, leave her room and get her RA. I would have brought the RA right into the room. I'm sure it would have solved the problem.

Sue22 · 03-03-2012, 12:54 PM

It sounds like she's claiming her ADD and depression qualify her for accommodations under the ADA. But as I understand it, while both depression and ADD can fall under the ADA, neither is automatic and in any case would only qualify her for reasonable accommodations. The question I'd have is whether the options offered her by the school were reasonable.

TatinG · 03-03-2012, 01:02 PM

If a male started masturbating in front of this girl, it would be sexual harassment or some sort of crime. This roommate having sex in a tiny dorm room in front of her roommate should be removed from the dorm at the very least.

momof3greatgirls · 03-03-2012, 02:00 PM

I have to agree this is crazy. Why did she have to do anything let alone have to put in a legal case? Why didn't the college reassign the other student? Since when is it ok to have a person of the opposite sex in your room without permission? I do know that some colleges have coed rooms but that is not what this student signed up for in this case. I also know you can have over night guess but I am sorry this liberal do whatever you want is so wrong. No one should be subject to this kind of abuse. The student pays enough to be able to sleep in her own room without this non sense. Since when did personal decency go out the door. If this happened to my dd, I would be sitting in the Resident Life managers office the next day.

noamountofcoffee · 03-03-2012, 03:16 PM

That's not a lawsuit, that's a room transfer. "Laura" was clearly a tactless idiot, but Ms. Blankmeyer really needs to develop a thicker skin.

TatinG · 03-03-2012, 03:22 PM

Does the person who sees a flasher on the street have to develop a thicker skin? The roommate was way out of bounds. No college man or woman should have to put up with that. Whatever happened to putting a scarf or tie on the doorknob for privacy?

floridadad55 · 03-03-2012, 03:31 PM

Another silly lawsuit.

Modadunn · 03-03-2012, 05:39 PM

At the end of the day, the way I read the article, she did not initially present herself to the school in 2007 as in need of any accommodation. Her room change due to the roommate issue was granted but the change proved unsatisfactory and therefore wanted a private room (and whose to say if the next roommate did not also pose her issue). The student back doored the dx after the fact in order to get the single room (if not by hook than by crook = if not by sex crazed original roommate than by disability). That the school didnt just give her single room, is kinda bad, but if that was her only accommodation I don't see how it fits with the dx. And again, at what point did she use the DX as her reasons for wanting a single room?

I think the school acted inappropriately when the Laura roommate was so disrespectful (something seriously wrong with video sex, sex with the BF - who btw was fine with his gf having sex online?). But this complaint was with her freshman year roommate and the student has since graduated. And she spent some time in a hotel?? There obviously were issues with the next roommate as well.

IMHO, I think her depression was more due to her inability to relate socially, perhaps co-morbid with the ADD. Why else move to a hotel (plus, that's a seriously $$ option)? Or did the depression get worse in the hotel. Because isolating oneself in a single room hardly seems the answer to depression - whether it be in a hotel or a dorm.

surfcity · 03-03-2012, 06:26 PM

The real question is. . . is the roommate using birth control on this Catholic campus?