Freshman Gets Stung By Hornet Roommate

The minute Bobby Peterson K’12 got his roommate form during the summer, he eagerly filled it out, writing a detailed description of his sleeping habits and making sure to note that he was an extreme neat freak. Nowhere on the form was there any statement about whether or not students had a preference for honey or minded being stung every so often. When Peterson arrived at K on the first day of freshman orientation, he raced up the stairs of Hoben Hall, lugging suitcases and boxes.

 

His jaw flew open and the luggage he was carrying tumbled onto the floor as he saw streams of orange and black whizzing through the air of room 321. Peterson’s roommate form somehow indicated that he would be a perfect match with the giant Kalamazoo mascot, Buzz the hornet.

 

“Some mornings I wake up thinking that I am in some kind of a dream, or better yet, a nightmare,” said Peterson. “Many times I’ve opened my eyes to see honey splattered all over my bed and on the floor. One morning my hair was literally stuck to the pillow! It was disgusting.”

Despite Buzz’s love for honey and giving Peterson a good stinging when he’s angry or stressed out, the two do share some similar qualities. “Buzz loves buzzing loudly to the rhythm of my guitar-playing or as I beat-box randomly,” said Peterson. “Who knew that we would get along in that sense?” While Buzz and Peterson were matched well by their shared interest in music, their RA made sure that the two could still live in the same room without killing each other.

“I sat down with them as they filled out their roommate agreement form,” said Ryan Bandy K ’11. “Buzz insisted on building a giant nest in place of his bed. He said he absolutely could not have enough energy to go cheer at sports events without it,” Bandy said. Peterson frequently considers moving to a different room, but students run in the other direction the minute he approaches them about rooming with Buzz. “There’s no way I could put up living with a giant hornet,” said Nick Case K’12. “Bobby always has honey all over him, and he’s picking stingers out of his skin in class. Buzz is absolutely crazy.” On the upside, Buzz has gotten Bobby out of some homework assignments due to his daily honey spills, but normally tries to take his wildness down a notch when it comes to study time.

Over the course of the year, Bobby has taken notice of Buzz’s admirable qualities, such as his spunk and his love for sweet flowers, and hopes that Buzz will put the stinger and stickiness away for awhile.