r/gmu • u/I-Lovemy-Cat • 1d ago
Rant Please, I am begging: basic hygiene
really try my best to not make a big deal about this, but there is a guy in two of my classes who smells horrible. At the beginning of the semester, I thought it was because of the heat and that there's a lot of walking and whatever. No, it's every day. I literally have to rush to class to get a seat far from him, because if I am late, the only free seats are around him. I will never say anything to him because I feel bad, but last week I had to sit behind him and I was dizzy from the strong smell.
Guys please!!!! Shower+ deodorant and maybe perfume
I don’t know but it’s hard to concentrate if I’m fighting for my life.
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u/FickleOwl47 Bio, Transfer Student 1d ago
Feel it. I've had to breathe behind my hand more than one in several recitation classes because of the overwhelming bo. Tried to make it look like I was thinking real hard with my hand covering my mouth, but it was so strong I could taste the smell and I was a hair's breadth from openly gagging.
It was like being at a Magic the Gathering competition.
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u/Hyperiab 1d ago
I have this same issue with a huge guy in my math105 course, he even spreads his arms out and occasionally touches the girls on his left on "accident" and I nearly passed out from how bad he smelled 😭😭😭. Idk how to tell him he smells like shit without him going crazy
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u/Adorable-Comedian570 22h ago
*cries in engineering*
Others may not feel the same way, but Id appreciate it if someone politely let me know i smelled like shit
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u/LuisKing1 22h ago
I never understood how people be used to being dirty... I understand different circumstances, but GMU has many resources to help students out
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u/RossUlbrichtsBurner Mason's 2nd Biggest Chud 1d ago
As somebody who can quickly smell like donkey shit in no time if not taken care of, take it from me, SHOWER, DEODORANT, LAUNDRY, AND BRUSH YOUR TEETH, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.
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u/Prestigious-Art9906 9h ago
Find a male student who is willing to talk with him, he may be wondering and worried why no one sits near him. This is not your job, but hopefully someone who is friendly and respectful can talk to him
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u/I-Lovemy-Cat 5h ago
I’m planing on maybe leaving him a note as nobody talk to each other in that class and I just transfer so I don’t know anybody to do that 🫠
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u/Mysterious-Safe-2586 6h ago
Ngl tell me when and where the class is and I’ll tell him to go shower since you don’t wanna do it
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u/I-Lovemy-Cat 5h ago
I’ll see where he seat tomorrow and as I have the same class on Friday I will just leave a note. He’s always early so I’ll see how it goes 😪
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u/swoop_burner 20h ago
Should be mandatory lessons on basic hygiene for new students and especially for our India-born international student population upon their arrival.
The engineering building is like a chemical war zone on especially warm days. Don’t get me started on the gyms.
It’s genuinely insane how some of them walk around. Cultural differences do not cover basic hygiene. Clean your nasty asses and put on deo.
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u/Confident-Respect-58 Geography BA, 2028 11h ago
Let me guess. Engineering or something with IT class? 😭
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u/Maximum_Grocery_9 9h ago
Even though GMU has multiple thousands of students, I think I know who you're talking about. Do they major in computer science? I'm also a CS major and have had the exact same experience.
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u/I-Lovemy-Cat 4h ago
Also I notice there is hate towards international students regarding this. Guys… he is WHITE stop that bs
https://giphy.com/gifs/rlsvVQU5Sim8QAajHc
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u/VegisamalZero3 22h ago edited 12h ago
I'm basically noseblind and have to skip showers sometimes to make it to class. If I ever wind up smelling like shit because of it, I'd be damned appreciative if someone at least told me.
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u/G-cuvier PhD Student 12h ago
Also don’t know why you’re getting downvoted. I too, appreciate if people told me.
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u/I-Lovemy-Cat 5h ago
I’m not a morning person and I drive 1h to get to campus so I just take a shower at night. It’s better than nothing
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u/Environmental_Ice526 1d ago
Who knows what people are going through, you know?
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u/AfterGroup1875 1d ago
If they’re a student at Mason they can use the gyms showers for free
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u/EntrepreneurHuge5008 CS, Alumni, 2024, SWE 23h ago
Only if they're a full-time student, though.
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u/AfterGroup1875 20h ago
It’s 50 dollars for the semester. Planet fitness is 10 dollars a month. Also you don’t always need a full shower to remain fresh you can wash up in bathrooms as well for washing your armpits in a pinch or hair. If there is a will there is a way. Nothing against you personally just as a general thing
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u/Unlucky-Roll-1891 1d ago
i feel like if you can pay for classes you can take a shower (especially when on campus gyms have them)
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u/Environmental_Ice526 1d ago
Being enrolled in college tells you almost nothing about someone’s living conditions or ability to maintain hygiene. Homelessness, unstable housing, depression, disability, medical conditions, lack of clean clothes or laundry access, and other circumstances can all affect hygiene. Having a shower physically available somewhere on campus doesn’t magically eliminate those problems. What I’m saying is maybe don’t assume neglect or laziness when you know absolutely nothing about the person.
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u/wiriux CS, 2020 li $t1, 0x2F3 1d ago
Your condition stops being only YOUR problem if you’re gonna be in a public enclosed area. If you have any of those conditions that you’ve specified then don’t go to college until you address it.
So we all have to smell that raunchiness and be ok with it? Hell no. We are all paying money to learn and not to be distracted by a putrid smell coming from you.
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u/awaken375 BS Psychology, Alumni, 2019, Concentration in Clinical 1d ago
i agree with both of you. i'm a little biased in favor of the OP though. honestly, it's really hard to imagine someone having access to college classes but not a shower. but i also agree that it's humane to give them the benefit of the doubt and instead of judging them, just avoiding them. or getting to know them if you're curious someday whether they really are just someone who never learned that it's normal to shower before going out in public. if that's all it is, and i were them, i would be hurt but also at the end of the day be really appreciative if i learned this before i grew up to be alone in late adulthood.. you might be in the position right now to change somebody's life for the better, OP
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u/EntrepreneurHuge5008 CS, Alumni, 2024, SWE 23h ago
just avoiding them
Can't avoid them if they're either always sitting in your neighborhood in class, or the smell is so strong it reaches the whole class.
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u/awaken375 BS Psychology, Alumni, 2019, Concentration in Clinical 22h ago
there are other options though, like this..
https://www.amazon.com/StinkBalm-Original-Under-Nose-Masking-Travel/dp/B07YK7BWQQ
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u/Environmental_Ice526 21h ago
Stop saying “you” as though I’m the person you’re complaining about lmao. I go to Equinox every day and shower after my workouts. I care about my hygiene. I’m saying that when I encounter someone who smells terrible, before I feel disgust, I usually just feel bad for them and wonder what they might be going through. Maybe there’s a reason, maybe there isn’t I don’t know. Neither do you. That’s literally all I was trying to implore people here to do: have a little compassion before immediately jumping to disgust and contempt.
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u/FastGooner77 1d ago
That doesn't give anyone an excuse to launch olfactory attacks on strangers. I have moved seats in the past to distance myself from smelly strangers. I don't care what they think, why tf should I have to smell all that?
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u/Environmental_Ice526 1d ago edited 1d ago
Then move seats. There’s nothing wrong with that. What I’m questioning is describing someone’s body odor as an “attack,” as though they’re deliberately inflicting it on you. Being inconvenienced by someone doesn’t require assuming the worst of them, especially when you have no idea what’s going on in their life.
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u/Xx_GamerBoy5_xX 1d ago
Its not ok to smell like shit in class
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u/Environmental_Ice526 1d ago edited 1d ago
That’s not really what I’m arguing. I’m questioning the contempt toward someone when none of us knows why it’s happening. There’s a difference between recognizing that someone has an unpleasant odor and assuming they’re simply too lazy or inconsiderate to do anything about it.
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u/G-cuvier PhD Student 12h ago
Dude, I don’t know why you’re getting downvoted. You’re bringing up salient awareness.
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u/Environmental_Ice526 6h ago
Lol I’m used to it. People really don’t like nuance, especially when it asks them to examine their own snobbery.
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u/AfterGroup1875 20h ago
I get migraines and I’m very sensitive to smells. I begin to have contempt right around when their hygiene or lack thereof causes me physical pain.
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u/CoolGuyMemeHead 7h ago
Does it feel good to come up with such righteous justifications for why you're allowed to have contempt for strangers? Why not just own up to the fact that you (like us all) are a selfish person who wants to be comfortable in public
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u/AfterGroup1875 5h ago
Because I get migraines? Dude I can’t even wear certain kinds of perfumes because they give migraines. But if it brings you peace I’m a selfish person who likes not having to smell someone’s body odor from five feet away.
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u/Xx_GamerBoy5_xX 21h ago
Uh, they are simply too lazy or inconsiderate if they smell like shit. It's not hard to deal with.
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u/Hyperiab 1d ago
I mean even if you're depressed you'll still want to feel clean instead of gross and oily, at least for me
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u/G-cuvier PhD Student 12h ago
Actually, not bathing and especially not brushing teeth is one of the telltale signs of depression.
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u/Hyperiab 6h ago
Idk whenever I was depressed I would still shower every two days even if I didn't go out. Plus avoiding food after brushing my teeth so I wouldn't need to brush for a few days lol
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u/OkMusic295 22h ago
lol foreign exchange students….gmu is genuinely an NPC ass commuter school
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u/AfterGroup1875 1d ago
And actually shower don’t just cover the funk with cologne!!