Room: 1708 Harnwell College House
Room Cohabitants: College juniors Shai Chu of Hong Kong, Carol Chow of Salt Lake City, Utah, Aliya Ansari of Mamaroneck, N.Y., and Elana Dvor of Philadelphia.
Do the bears normally kiss?
Shai: They're kissing bears.
Which one is the female bear?
Shai: I think the one wearing the skirt is the... girl bear?
I don't know. That's why I am asking.
Shai: Yeah. That's the way it's supposed to be.
So the guy bear is wearing purple.
Shai: I guess he is reformed.
Reformed what?
Shai: Because purple is usually, like, a gay color.
It's also royal. Are you judging the bears?
Carol: Shai, you have gay bears?
How do your roommates feel about your homophobia?
Shai: I am so fine with people being gay.
Are we listening to Lifehouse, by the way?
Carol: Yeah.
Nice work... What about the rabbit hanging by its neck?
Carol: I have a rabbit fetish.
Shai: That's Melody, an Asian rabbit.
What constitutes an Asian rabbit?
Shai: It's an Asian thing.
An Asian thing? Is the other rabbit an Asian rabbit?
Carol: That's Muumuu. There is actually a lot of controversy over Muumuu.
Is it because he is wearing a muumuu?
Carol: Yeah. People say that it is a dress, so they think he is a girl. But he is actually a boy because he wears a bow tie. He just prefers the whole muumuu thing.
So this is another stuffed animal that defies gender roles?
Carol: Yes! That is the theme of our room.
Shai: Everyone thinks Turd is a rat, but he is actually a koala.
Turd? A koala named Turd? Does he have identity problems too?
Shai: Turd just means squishy. In Hong Kong, this [definition] doesn't exist. Turd is not poo.
OK. But that is Pooh [pointing to the stuffed Winnie the Pooh], right?
Carol: Yeah.
Who painted these watercolors?
Carol: Shai is the artistic one.
What about you other three?
Carol: Elana is feisty. Aliya is the baby. Everyone has to care for her.
What were y'all doing before we came?
Carol: I went to the zoo.
Any favorite part of the zoo?
Carol: I like the monkeys.
Does the zoo have rabbits?
Carol: Maybe in the children's section, but we didn't go.... Apparently I was the zoo Nazi.
So Shai is the artist. Elana is feisty. Aliya is the baby. And you are the zoo Nazi?
Carol: No one is gonna want to go to the zoo with me anymore. [They'll say,] "She's the zoo Nazi. I don't want to go with her."... Actually I was very disappointed with the zebras.... I thought they were kind of midgety.
Your conception of zebras was taller?
Carol: It might have been because we saw the elephants first, but I thought the zebras were...
Zebras are just inherently disappointing as a species?
Carol: No. They were just too small.
If you could characterize your room as a vegetable, what would it be?
Shai: Broccoli... because my professor's name is like, Professor Broccoli.
Why is he Professor Broccoli?
Shai: Because he's like, "My name is Professor Broccoli." And he looks like a Broccoli too because he is big on top and small on bottom.
Does your room, or that of someone you know, deserve to be featured in "Room"?
E-mail street@dailypennsylvanian.com .
