Unfiltered Story #185602

(I work at a residence hall at my college. Today is one of the tour days for incoming freshmen and their families, so the desk is very busy. Thankfully, I’ve only had to deal with a few unruly parents. At one point, a mother comes up to me to ask a question.)

Mother: Excuse me, I was wondering when the next tour of this hall would be starting?

Me: It should be about 10 to 15 minutes, m’mam. You’re welcome to sit in the chairs and wait if you’d like.

Mother: Thank you! I was actually here last time to see the “Oriental” house, and thought I’d like to come back to see this one…

(I’m taken aback at this point, because our college clearly does not have a hall called such an outdated, racist term. We do, however, have one for International students, called…”International House”, so I correct her nicely.)

Mother (clearly perplexed): Oh…is that what it’s called? How strange.

(She didn’t come back towards the desk after that.)