Your university residence sets the tone for your entire first year: your floormates are likely the first people you meet, you're close enough to a food source for those late-night munchies, and above all, free WiFi. But, as convenient as this is, no first year is complete without a few horror stories.

Yak-in-a-Cup

"Our floor mate left a cup of yak in his room over break and then put the yak out in the hall... someone kicked over the cup and our don had to biohazard to clean it up because the smell was so bad." - Queen's University

You Gotta Do What You Gotta Do

"Some guy peed in the hall outside my room during HOCO. It was awful. I will never forget." - Queen's University

Floor Pet

"It started while I was watching Netflix with my contacts out (so I'm basically blind), then I heard some weird noises and got super confused. So, I stood up and saw something on the floor then realized it was a squirrel running around! After that, we started feeding it and it would come in our room and wake us up all the time." - Queen's University

A Slippery Slope

"My friend puked down 4 flights of stairs after a night out." - George Brown College

Unfinished Business

"I was in my room, in the dark, on my phone. A random guy walked in and just started staring at me. My roommates and I threatened him before he finally left. But after that, he kept knocking on our door and avoiding the peephole." - Wilfrid Laurier University

Home Is Where the Hangover Is

"I got super drunk one night and was curled up beside a garbage can, in tears, on the phone to my boyfriend at 1:30AM. To top off my insane hangover the next day, I had to return home to help my mom move in to her new house." - George Brown College

The Right to Remain Silent

"This drunk guy in my building busted into our room at 3AM and was trying to tell my roommate she was under arrest. Apparently he has done it to a bunch of people in our building." - Wilfrid Laurier University

Locked Out

 "On Friday the 13th, my door somehow became locked even though I had just been inside it. When campus security came and unlocked it, my keys were inside the room." - Queen's University

Three's a Crowd

"For the longest time I would feel like someone was watching me. While studying, I would suddenly whip around and look behind me, and I would be woken up in the night because I felt a presence standing over me. My roommate told me I was paranoid and delusional. That was until one day, she saw a dark figure pass behind her, ignoring it (assuming it was me), until I entered through the other side of the room. One morning, around 5AM, we were both in bed and my closet’s sliding door shut by itself with a loud bang. After that, our stuff would go missing and appear in places we never go (like in drawers we don’t use). I told my mother and she came down for a visit, brought Holy Water, and stuck prayers and crosses on the walls. She prayed for 30 minutes and we haven’t had any trouble since.” - University of Ottawa

The Great Flood

"Someone broke a sprinkler in Watts Hall. It exploded. There is currently extensive water damage." - Queen's University

Without such horrors, we wouldn't have great stories to share. What's most important is to know your limits, respect everyone's decision to drink (or not to drink), and to always refrain from drinking and driving. Memories like these are hard to come by and will likely be shared for years to come, but drinking and partying safely and responsibly is key to ensuring you see to tell the tale.