<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1HeqKx_1H1PdcyJ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1HeqKx_1H1PdcyJ00" width="1200" height="630" >This past week, I had the privilege of interviewing one of Vassar’s most vulnerable: the spotted lanternfly. The bugs first arrived in the United States around 2014 and have kept their status as an invasive species since due to their, as one Facebook group puts it, “sex-crazed” ability to repopulate. However, since their arrival to campus in 2021, students have put it upon themselves to single-handedly exterminate them from Arlington. Possible reasons why lanternfly annihilation has become Vassar student’s latest pastime range from attempts at being environmentally conscious to taking their rage out in the bugs after failing their Intro to Clowning midterm. I’ve decided to take it upon myself to hear another side of the story. How bad could lanternflies truly be? While they do suck sap from crops and trees, making them more vulnerable to disease, I think we as a student body have done a great disservice to their population on Vassar. I mean, we’ve been stepping on them without a second thought for years, and we could be ripping apart families! They probably live in fear of coming outside because they know they’ll be faced with 20 pairs of Sambas trying to flatten them. In order to properly understand lanternflies, I decided to get in touch with one who was placed in the Witness Bug-tection Program (WBP) to protect it from being found by students. The lanternfly, who goes by Dottie Dotterson (it/its), faced a tremendous loss at the hands of Vassar’s student body. My goal with this interview is to aid others in comprehending the emotional turmoil they are causing these bugs, no matter how evil they think lanternflies are.I met with Dotterson on a clear Saturday afternoon, where we sat on a bench and enjoyed custom sap-puccinos from The Brew. I knew this would be a difficult interview. I thought the language barrier would be an issue, but I was able to get in a few Buganese lessons from the cockroaches in the Josselyn House basement. My main concern was to not upset Dotterson, due to the excessive amounts of trauma it has faced in the past few months. I knew I needed to be careful with my questions. After exchanging a few pleasantries, I began the interview.Liza: So, how did you first come to Vassar?Dottie: bzzt bzzt bzzt (Well, my family is originally from Pennsylvania, but I felt like I needed a change of scenery. Don’t get me wrong, I love it there. It’s just… a little lanternfly like me wants to see the world. So, I hitchhiked onto someone’s car last summer and eventually made my way to Vassar!)Liza: And how has your past year been on campus?Dottie: bzzt! bzzt (It was great! Well… at first. The summer was quiet, and it allowed me to really connect with the other lanternflies. Vassar is where I’ve made some of my closest friends.)Liza: You also met your partner here, correct?Dottie: bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzzt (I did… I met Spot in the Shakespeare Garden. It was trying to suck some sap from a tree, and I noticed right away how its spots glistened in the sunlight. We have been together ever since. That is, until orientation week…)Liza: What exactly happened during this year’s orientation week?Dottie: bzzt bzzt bzzt… (As soon as the first-years stepped on campus, it was a massacre. Everywhere I flew, I saw countless lanternflies being crushed. I was horrified. I watched so many friends, all the memories we made growing sooty mold from leaves and hanging out on the steps of the Deece, everything vanished with a single squish. And it continued even after the upperclassmen came to campus. I’m shocked.)Liza: I’m so sorry. How were you able to evade the first-years?Dottie: bzzt bzzzzt (One of Spot’s friends told us about a hiding place underneath a sedan in the Jewett parking lot, where some other lanternflies were taking shelter. So, we hid there during the day, and we would sneak out at night to get food. I remember how scared I was the first night under that sedan. But Spot was always right next to me. It said once we had time to gather supplies, we would go somewhere nice, somewhere where we could finally relax. Our dream was to go to Palm Springs… but I guess that’ll never happen now…)Liza: …That sounds wonderful. If you feel comfortable, do you mind telling me what happened to Spot?Dottie: …bzzt… (…Alright. Just give me a few minutes.)Liza: It’s okay, take your time. I think your story has the possibility of reaching millions. You’re very brave for doing this.Dottie: bzzt. bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzzt… (Thank you, I truly hope so. Okay… One night, Spot told me that it knew of a way to get more food for everyone under the sedan. It said there was a vending machine in the Jewett basement, and it would try to find a safe way for all of us to get snacks. So, Spot and Tittle, another lanternfly it recruited, said they would be back in a second, and left…)Liza: What happened next?Dottie: bzzzt bzzt…! (After they didn’t come back for a few minutes, I started to get worried. Then hours passed, and one of the lanternflies said it would go look for Spot and Tittle. When it came back, it only brought Tittle, who looked horrified. The news it brought back would change my life forever… Someone had stepped on Spot. Apparently, it had stopped on the floor near the kitchen and didn’t realize a person had just come out. I still can’t believe it. I should’ve told it not to go… It would still be here with me if I said something. We could’ve gone to Palm Springs…!)Liza: God, that’s terrible. Again, I’m so sorry.I paused for a moment. A lanternfly crushed in the Jewett basement? Why did that sound familiar?Liza: Would you mind telling me what day this occurred? Dottie: bzzzt (I think it was… Yes, it was the second of October)Wait. What was I doing the night of October second?Liza: What the person who killed Spot was doing?Dottie: bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt (Tittle said the human was filling up their water bottle. It was a Stanley.)Oh no. Could it really be?Liza: …What color was the Stanley?Dottie: bzzt bzzt? (…Blue. Why?)Oh god.I couldn’t let her know it was me. This would ruin the whole interview, not to mention ruin my solidarity with the lanternflies. I needed to end this interview now.Liza: I… I just want to get all the details. Okay, I think that’s all. Thank you so much for your time.Dottie: bzzt… (Thank you for telling my story. I’m glad there are still humans out there who care for bugs like us. I hope you will capture Spot’s memory through this.)Liza: I will, Dottie. I will.…Okay, so maybe I should’ve done a more thorough background check, but my argument still stands! Look at all the harm we humans have done to the lanternfly population! Look at how traumatized they all are! It’s not my fault! I’m actually doing a good deed by telling this story! Maybe I killed Spot on purpose to really show how tragic this whole situation is! Don’t you guys get it?! I! Did! Nothing! Wrong!Sorry. I guess I’m pretty passionate about this interview. Anyways, I hope this interview makes you understand all the harm Vassar students have done onto the (mostly) innocent lanternfly population. To Dottie, I’m truly sorry about Spot, and I hope you enjoy your all-expenses-paid vacation to Palm Springs. And to the readers, please, I beg you, think before you step.</div></body>

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This past week, I had the privilege of interviewing one of Vassar’s most vulnerable: the spotted lanternfly. The bugs first arrived in the United States around 2014 and have kept their status as an invasive species since due to their, as one Facebook group puts it, “sex-crazed” ability to repopulate. However, since their arrival to campus in 2021, students have put it upon themselves to single-handedly exterminate them from Arlington. Possible reasons why lanternfly annihilation has become Vassar student’s latest pastime range from attempts at being environmentally conscious to taking their rage out in the bugs after failing their Intro to Clowning midterm.

A traumatized lanternfly speaks its truth

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This past week, I had the privilege of interviewing one of Vassar’s most vulnerable: the spotted lanternfly. The bugs first arrived in the United States ar

A traumatized lanternfly speaks its truth

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