Updated Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017; 1:45 p.m.: Sayonara, Brianna! After widespread scrutiny and a big social media push, the University of Hartford is finally showing up and showing out, and Brianna Brochu—who is accused of rubbing used tampons and contaminating her black roommate’s living space—has been expelled and is considered persona non grata on campus.
University President Greg Woodward released a statement Wednesday afternoon, saying in part:
As of this morning, Brianna Brochu is no longer a student at the University of Hartford. She will not be returning to the institution.
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.
Woodward reiterated that the university took “action immediately” once the allegations were made known, despite the fact that the victim, Chennel “Jazzy” Rowe, claimed that the school attempted to sweep the issue under the rug.
“It is clear there is work to be done at our University to ensure that all students feel safe, respected, and valued. The conversations that began with student groups, faculty, and staff yesterday are going to continue and involve our full community,” Woodward added. “I am dedicated to that mission and will continue to share additional information about opportunities for our path forward in meaningful dialogue and action.”
Right.
In that case, one might wonder why it took so long for the university to take action, since shit hit the fan a full two weeks ago. But at least the ball of justice seems to be rolling now.
Speaking of justice, Brochu is still facing the relatively weak charges of third-degree criminal mischief and second-degree breach of peace, but the New York Times reports that the West Hartford, Conn., Police Department said it would be requesting that Brochu be slapped with a felony charge of intimidation based on bigotry or bias, which sounds a lot more like it.
Earlier:
A white University of Hartford freshman, who is apparently as nasty and as vindictive as they come, has been arrested after weeks of systematically contaminating her black roommate’s living space in an effort to get her to move out, authorities say.
Brianna Rae Brochu, 18, was arrested Saturday and is facing charges of third-degree criminal mischief and second-degree breach of peace after police say she boasted about rubbing used tampons on her black roommate’s bag and contaminating her eating utensils, toothbrush and other beauty products, according to the Hartford Courant.
Chennel “Jazzy” Rowe, who is also a freshman at the Connecticut school, said that she had gotten a bad vibe from Brochu from day one.
“I kind of felt unwanted and she was giving off vibes,” Rowe told Fox 61.
But it wasn’t until Oct. 17, when Rowe finally moved out, that she realized her roommate had been systematically attacking her in the nastiest of ways.
“She asked me if I was moving out and I simply said ‘Yup,’ and she made a face and said ‘OK,’ and then I saw her pick up her phone and automatically start texting,” Rowe said.
But that wasn’t the case, authorities say; Brochu was actually posting to Instagram, boasting that she had gotten rid of “Jamaican Barbie” using the nastiest methods possible.
“Finally did it yo girl got rid of her roommate!! After 1 1/2 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,” Brochu wrote in the caption of photos posted on Instagram.
Rowe does not follow Brochu on Instagram but says she learned of the incident after one of her resident assistants showed her the posts.
Rowe immediately went to the university’s public-safety office as well as West Hartford police and filed a police report, but, she said, the school originally told her that she may or may not hear back about the offenses committed against her.
On Oct. 18, Rowe was asked to sign a “no contact agreement,” meaning that she would have no communication with Brochu. Rowe says that the school threatened to remove her from campus if she was caught talking about what happened to her.
But she refused to be silenced. Increasingly frustrated with how she was treated, not only by her roommate but apparently by her school as well, Rowe took to Facebook Live, detailing the horrific story in a lengthy video.
In the video, Rowe detailed what Brochu did to her and also told of how she had been getting sick continually, an alarming fact given that her living quarters were apparently badly contaminated because of her nasty-ass roommate from hell.
“While I’ve been here, I’ve been getting sick. Not knowing why, I’ve been getting sick. It started with throat pain. I thought maybe because it’s colder up here, I’m just probably catching a cold,” Rowe said. “The sore throat pain got worse and it was just throat pain. And this was happening for about a month. It got to the point where I had extreme throat pain where I couldn’t sleep, to the point where I couldn’t speak. Like, I’d try to whisper and I could barely whisper.”
Rowe said that she went to the campus medical center and was prescribed antibiotics, but doctors could not figure out what was wrong. Three tests came back negative, and doctors could only say that there was “some type of bad bacteria” in the back of her throat that was causing the pain.
In a Facebook post, Rowe also voiced her frustration with the university, unconvinced that the situation would have been handled this way if the roles were reversed:
Colleges are known to just sweep issues that happen within the campus under the rug, making the issue disappear and not doing anything about it. Now this isn’t right at all and this is where the public gets involved to push for things to be done right. I’m not holding my tongue any longer about my situation because this is just ridiculous to hear nothing back from my school about this situation. As a African American woman I have to fight for myself and others to not become some statistic. ...
She also said in the video, according to Heavy:
And the fact 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? I damn well know it wouldn’t. … I feel like me as a black person and her being a white person, if I’m the woman who committed all these crimes, this would’ve been completely different. … There were so many crimes committed, that she openly posted. … I would’ve been locked up already, they would have had no hesitation, cuffed me and taken me away. I’m just so aggravated.
Of course, now that Rowe has gone public, the university is singing a different tune, and saying that it will provide support during the investigation.
“Upon learning of the incident, Public Safety immediately ensured that the victim was relocated to a safe location, notified local authorities, and provided support for their investigation,” the school said in a statement. “The accused student was subsequently arrested by the West Hartford Police Department and her case will proceed through the legal process. The university will continue to precisely execute our defined process outlined in the Code of Student Conduct.”
The school also insisted that it did its due diligence, calling any other information to the contrary “based on misinformation.”
“The incident has brought about accusations of racism, and I want you to know that I hear and share your anger and frustration. Acts of racism, bias, bullying, or other abusive behaviors will not be tolerated on this campus. I pledge to do everything in my power to work with our community to address related concerns together,” school President Greg Woodward added in the statement.
As for Beckzilla Brochu, because white womanhood, she is currently free on $1,000 bail and is due back in court Wednesday, according to Heavy. Both of her charges are Class B misdemeanors, meaning that they would carry a maximum sentence of six months in prison and possibly a fine.
The Courant notes that Brochu attempted to play the victim, saying that 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.”
So, because of someone allegedly being rude and posting Snapchat videos of you sleeping, your next level of action and the response that you deem appropriate is rubbing your period blood all over the person’s bag and licking her plate, fork and spoon?
By the way, Brochu did confess to licking Rowe’s eating utensils and smearing blood on her backpack, but she denied any other actions she posted about on Instagram, claiming that it “was a lie in an attempt to ‘appear funny.’”
The Beckery.
Meanwhile, social media is rallying behind Rowe, starting the hashtag #JusticeForJazzy and demanding that the University of Hartford stop talking about it and instead just be about it.