I am a girl intern at a t1 firm (on paper t2 but pays as well as t1), accidently spilled coffee on the table I was working. The associate got really angry and told me to take the table cloth "home" and ensure it is washed and cleaned properly by Monday. This is so humiliating . I don't have cleaning equipment at my pg. Shall I tell my team's partner about this? She seems really nice and would probably veto such a punishment.

Get it cleaned from somewhere, and handover the rag to the associate in front of other associates/SAs/PAs/Partners. That is what I would have done, even at the cost of being fired from the internship. It would have been worth it.

P.s. during one of my internships, a partner scolded me for no mistake of mine, and i was planning on throwing him out of his 20th floor office window. The good thing is that he didn't come to the office for the next week, and when he came and asked me to meet him inside his office, he asked me if I had smoked. And I told him -"yes, do you have a problem", and the schmuck didn't say anything to me. I wouldn't divulge what happened next, but i work in tier-1 (2nd in a row). No job is as important as your self respect/ dignity.

Hey, won't blame you for what you did, probably the most practical way out of the situation, one which you should have never been in.

Yet, it's absolutely bs what you were made to do. To those saying it's deserved don't get the implications of the actions of the associate. This act is not a mere 'clean after yourself' etiquette lesson, but a plain egotistical and sadistic move.

Hope the news reaches the higher authorities who see the bs for it is and do something. Stay strong