Bedbug Cover-Up: University Of Nebraska Lincoln Tried To Hide Infestation, Students Say

Call it Bed bug-gate.

The University of Nebraska Lincoln is accused of covering up a bedbug infestation, but the school claims the whole situation is a misunderstanding.

The story was first reported by The Daily Nebraskan.

Keith Zaborowski, associate director of residence life, told the Lincoln Journal Star that the Housing Department thought a student had reported a dead bedbug in her dorm room.

But the student said she had bites on her neck and found at least one living bed bug in her room.

"I find it surprising they would say a single dead bedbug," Amanda Wekesser, a 23-year-old meteorology student told the Star. "As far as I know, dead bedbugs don't bite."

Wekesser told the paper she wanted hold a meeting to inform dorm residents about a possible infestation, but a resident director denied her request. According to Wekesser, the director then told her to put a sign on her door saying her room was being remodeled while it was being cleaned and checked for bugs.

But the school claims there was no attempt to cover up anything.

"Nobody was trying to keep anything from anybody, and nobody was lied to," university spokesperson Kelly Bartling told the Star.

All told, 26 student rooms and eight common areas were found to be infested with bed bugs.

The school newspaper, the Daily Nebraskan, has since accused university housing officials of withholding information and releasing reports that downplayed the severity of the infestation.

The paper has also called for Housing Director Sue Gildersleeve to resign over the controversy.