<p>This is a very timely thread for me, since I’ve spent the last 3 days cleaning up vomit, as my 7-year-old fights off a wicked stomach bug. (Apparently his definition of “making it to the toilet” does not include the key element of actually throwing up INTO the toilet.) Yes, it’s my own child, but vomit is vomit (it all smells the same), and you do what you have to do.
It also reminds me of an incident early in my freshman year (at the same university attended by OP’s son and my son). My roommate came in drunk in the middle of the night and threw up all over herself and her bed. Being the responsible person that I am, I immediately stripped her bed and took her sheets and clothes down to the basement to wash them. While removing her shorts from the dryer, I discovered that the expensive watch she got for HS graduation was in one of the pockets. And that’s how I learned to check pockets before washing!</p>
<p>I guess all dorms should have a supply of kitty litter on hand. Throw it on the mess and then sweep it into a dustpan. Yuk. I can’t believe we’ve come to this- discussing vomit. Blech.</p>
<p>"But Bea Miles, manager of custodial services and special functions, said students are not the only ones becoming frustrated. Custodians have recently been forced to respond to an increasing number of “gross” clean-ups, including vomit, urine and feces. </p>
<p>Miles said she sees the growing number of foul messes becoming a trend this year: During Homecoming weekend alone, there were two reported instances of feces left in sinks. If custodians continue to find such vile messes, houses will likely soon be fined for these instances. “We do not have accurate records for this type of clean-ups, but will begin to track them and bill for their clean-up,” Miles said. </p>
<p>The thing is that, for the students at many of these schools, $60 is pocket change, and they could care less. We know who feels the burden. </p>
<p>Collective punishment makes no sense when one is forced to live in the collective. If the RA can’t find out who is responsible and have things cleaned up, s/he should step forward, and as agent for the college, should take responsibility, financial or otherwise.</p>
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<p>This is the correct way to deal with the situation IMHO. I’ve seen it happen. Someone on that floor knew who it was and should have spilled the beans about the the tossed cookies.</p>
<p>If I were a student on the floor, and I didn’t know who it was, I would raise holy he!ll before I would (1) clean up someone else’s alcohol vomit or (2) pay a (large) fine for someone else’s crime. I’d gladly take serious punishment from a college before I would do either one. Unless it’s a one-story dorm, there are other bathrooms.</p>
<p>The ultimate responsibility here is on the COLLEGE, because the college is the LANDLORD. I, a dorm resident, am renting a room, and the landlord is responsible for the habitability of shared space. Yes, people should clean up their own mess (preferably when they are in the throes of an agonizing hangover). However, if they don’t, the landlord and not the innocent tenants should bear the cost of cleanup.</p>
<p>This is unfair – outrageous – and the OP’s son should refuse to pay.</p>
<p>
They could always do what my oldest did when he lived at home. If one of the animals threw up or had an “accident”, he piled on paper towels, then turned a laundry basket upside down over it. When I returned, he would say, “Mom, there’s a mess in the ***room”.</p>
<p>mkm- what was censored in your post (***)?</p>
<p>Another vomit story: I was newly married and working 7a-3p shift. My college aged brother and a friend were spending the weekend and sat up late drinking. When I got up at 5:30 in the morning I found frozen vomit on the patio and sliding glass door. I found brother on sofa, pounded a spoon on a pan over his head and made his hungover a** get up right then and scrape all that mess up. Gee, I wonder where my son gets his temperament? ;).</p>
<p>No censor just “whatever room”</p>
<p>Oh, I thought this was a new censorship rule, like “bed” room. I was confused. (Couldn’t think of any other 3 letter words that fit)!!!</p>
<p>what if someone broke a glass bottle and it was all over the floor, would the people, just avoid it all day?</p>
<p>wow, really sad how people care so little for their environment that they would tolerate vomit, and would poo in the sink</p>
<p>animals is too kind a word for the people that do that, at least most animals try and do their business elsewhere, and not in their dens</p>
<p>if it was not someone on that floor, it was someone who was let onto that floor by the residents</p>
<p>as for “landlords”- they are NOT responsible for taking out YOUR garbage, cleaning up YOUR spills and messes and if you think they are, wait till you rent an apartment</p>
<p>if YOUR friend vomits all over the shared areas, you will be responsible and if it happens more than a few times, your lease may not be renewed</p>
<p>so if you go to a public park and people have left a mess, do you never just say, heck, give me some gloves and garbage bags and lets take care of this place</p>
<p>wonder if those students litter, throw there garbage all over and wonder if they would care if someone just came and trashed their college grounds</p>
<p>would they let the garbage stay there and would they expect staff to clean it ALL up, even though it is shared by everyone?</p>
<p>bet some of these posters would because they couldn’t be bothered</p>
<p>A little off topic: do ALL upperclass dorms now have RA’s? In my day many years ago, the freshman dorms had RA’s, but after that we were on our own with no one babysitting us - upperclass dorms did not have RA’s. We did just fine for ourselves. Now it seems that all dorms have RA’s - is this true?</p>
<p>I can only speak for Harvard Houses 30 years ago, but there were lots of “tutors” (aka grad. students) in each house.</p>
<p>You can not compare garbage, trash, or a broken bottle to vomit. Vomit is a bio-hazzard. </p>
<p>It goes without saying that the idiot who vomited should have cleaned up his mess. And then called the janitorial staff for a thorough disinfection (or found the disinfectant himself…whtever the protocol at that school is.) Cleaning up another student’s vomit is dangerous. No comparison between that and a mom or dad cleaning up after their kids. Blood borne pathogens, viruses, all kinds of nasty germs were potentially left out for all to be exposed to by the RA. Do you really think another kid knew who the culprit was? Allowed the whole floor to be inconvenienced and placed at risk, and then took a $60 hit? That’s a huge assumption to make. As is the commment that these are spoiled rich kids who can afford it.</p>
<p>The entire floor did not act badly. One person did. Unlike an apartment renter who chooses his guests, the kids on the floor do not have any control over which individuals live or visit the dorm.</p>
<p>Maybe I’m just another spoiled college student, but there is no way that I’m cleaning up someone else’s vomit. Disease or no disease, it’s disgusting and not my responsibility. The only exception would be if it the culprit had been someone visiting me and there were no way to make him clean up his own mess. </p>
<p>There is also no way that I would pay $60 to clean up someone else’s mess without a fight. A small fine might be appropriate, but that is an exorbitant amount of money to pay for something that isn’t your fault. If it happens 10 times in the course of a year, am I still expected to keep paying? T</p>
<p>All i can say is, thank goodness for substance free housing!</p>
<p>“That’s a huge assumption to make. As is the commment that these are spoiled rich kids who can afford it.”</p>
<p>Not an assumption, but a reality. (Never said “spoiled”, but if you choose to add it, I don’t mind.) And “these” are not - some of them are, and that’s what makes it unfair to inflict collective punishment, like a regressive tax.</p>
<p>I guess I must be in the minority, but I can’t understand how a college would fine students and collect $2000 for barf clean up! How did the RA come up with $60 per resident? This just doesn’t sound like an official university policy, but rather a random punishment levied by the RA.</p>
<p>Another issue that occurs to me is the location of the cleaning crew. Usually, hall bathrooms are cleaned daily by university staff. Did the regular cleaning crew mop around the offending pile of stuff for an entire week, while never actually cleaning it up?</p>
<p>That’s ridiculous. That makes me remember my freshman year when someone on one of the guys’ floors stole a mop and they fined EVERYONE on the floor $10.</p>
<p>I only cleaned up vomit once, and that was because it was my roommate who got sick in our room. She had too much to drink, and she REALLY owed me after that night. I was mad for a few days after the incident. </p>
<p>If it’s someone else…no, I’m not cleaning it up. In my opinion, it is the responsibility of the person and their party to take care of that situation. It’s not my fault that someone didn’t realize what drinking too much can make you do. And me touching someone else’s blood (like on the used feminine product that I found lodged in a shower hanger freshman year) is just out of the question. </p>
<p>I agree, I feel bad for the poor cleaning staff, because some kids care so little for the fact that someone has to clean up after them.</p>
<p>however a high tax prevents a reoccurrence and once the those who are taxed realize that they themselves can reduce the burden, the total taxation can be reduced and a better community is developed. </p>
<p>You can see cities and neighborhoods become stronger when each neighbor takes some responsibility. </p>
<p>The people on that floor, now have a collective reputation as being bad drunks, individualists, and irresponsible. As seen from an outsider. </p>
<p>Since the occurrence was on a weekend, there was no maid service. The consequence of no cleanup until Monday and then there may be an extra cleaning charge imposed by the housing authorities.</p>
<p>I was five minutes late on a parking meter. $15 fine. This is the same fine if I was 2 hours late. Thats unfair too!</p>