by Derek Johnson

Created on: November 04, 2008

Bugs- Bugs in the dormitories on campus that come in from the outside. Students react to them by trying to kill them or just looking at them. Some people may get freaked out by insects in their bathrooms and bedrooms, but they are there, since we're in the "country". Not that many people would take the time to observe those bugs. There are so many things that are invisible to students, but sometimes bugs are not: "It actually bit me one time in my sleep and I had this big bump on my arm," Blanca Carrasco, a senior, said, "And you could actually see the two bite marks it left me."

They come crawling out of the cracks and crannies out of the caves that they travel through in passage. On all six legs and with their antennae twitching for signals and scents, they form a single-file line. Ignoring everything else and keeping focus on the mission, they head for a bread crumb or a small piece of sugar or splatter of honey on the kitchen floor.

These are the ants of Stony Brook University, the place that many students call home away from home but the ants and other bugs of the campus call it a meal ticket.

As a spider is busy weaving its web in the corner of the bathroom, for example, people are going to the bathroom and taking showers, either ignoring the spiders or freaking out with fear. If there are terrified responses, the spider usually finds itself belly-up or flat.

"There was a spider like two years ago," said Blanca Carrasco (CQ), a senior who lives at H-Quad on campus, "that was living in my window and I didn't know about it." Carrasco went to sleep that night and woke up with a surprise. She said, "It actually bit me one time in my sleep and I had this big bump on my arm. And you could actually see the two bite marks it left me."

This is part of the life for students who live in such a wooded area. This is Long Island, the country, suburbs or what ever else you want to call it. The creepy crawler neighbors do not mind if there are obstacles such as dormitory buildings, cars or the feet of students heading to and from class.

Students, however, have to decide what they want to do when they come face to face with spiders, roaches and other insects. "It was near the shower," said Emily Kogan (CQ), a sophomore who lives in Douglass College at Tabler Quad, "It was like a beetle." And how did she react? "Well I screamedand someone else killed it." Can't anyone just say "Let It Be?"

There are students who try to prevent the encounter from happening again. "I never saw

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