For many of you people, this will be the first time in your lives that you are required to share a room, so it’s not wonder why first year students come to campus full of anxiety about their roommate. As an R.A., you may think I’m a bit biased, I’m given my own room after all, but I too was a first year once, and I’ve witnessed this issue from both sides. Experiencing the event is one thing. I recall being sent a letter giving me the name and telephone number of my new roommate. How was I expected to call a complete stranger and discuss living with her in only a few short weeks? Learn from my mistakes, DO NOT put off calling your roommate. Now I did have a unique situation where I was away from a phone line during hurricane Ivan, but not being able to answer her messages put a slight strain on our relationship to start. Take the time to talk. Don’t make assumptions about your roommate based on their Facebook page! Facebook is no reason to get a new roommate! Maybe just introduce yourself the first time you call them, get to know each other as people before any discussion about the room. If you’re comfortable, decide who will bring what (the TV, phone, furniture not provided like futons, etc). There is limited room in some of the dorms and you don’t want to show up at school, carry a very heavy refrigerator up to the third floor, and walk into your room to already find a refrigerator (Microfridges offered by the school save both roommates hassle in this case!) Next you may want to plan on the room décor. Come to a peaceful solution that both of you can agree upon, after all, no one wants to live in a room with so many stuffed animals or posters that you feel watched at any given moment. Find a common theme and discuss personal space. You will find that to maximize your personal space organizers and under-bed storage are lifesavers! Consider what height you want your bed at, if you have it set high you have more space for storage underneath, but if you tend to roll out of bed in the mornings it may not be a very good idea and you’ll want to consider more shelving or desk organizing options. Check out this website for more
dorm decorating tips!
By just discussing these common room issues, you are well on your way to having a better relationship with your roommate. Now do not get me wrong, we do not expect you and your roommate to be best friends who never separate the instant you meet, we just expect that you’ll be able to live together and share a space. If for some reason all of the above is done and you still cannot stand to live with the person you were put with, you have options. As a R.A. this is what my advice would be. Talk to your roommate first. If it is something small bothering you, like lights on after you go to sleep, or too many visitors, you may be able to resolve the issue quiet easily, perhaps your roommate didn’t even realize it was an issue to begin with! If you try that and it still does not work, do not complain to the housing coordinator! Getting on the housing coordinator’s bad side will do you no good if you have to move later! Talk to your R.A. Believe it or not, we are trained to handle this type of thing. We will try to mediate the situation and if nothing else can be done we will take your concern to Residence Life and start the procedure for having you moved. It’s all very simple, right?
For many of you people, this will be the first time in your lives that you are required to share a room, so it’s not wonder why first year students come to campus full of anxiety about their roommate. As an R.A., you may think I’m a bit biased, I’m given my own room after all, but I too was a first year once, and I’ve witnessed this issue from both sides. Experiencing the event is one thing. I recall being sent a letter giving me the name and telephone number of my new roommate. How was I expected to call a complete stranger and discuss living with her in only a few short weeks? Learn from my mistakes, DO NOT put off calling your roommate. Now I did have a unique situation where I was away from a phone line during hurricane Ivan, but not being able to answer her messages put a slight strain on our relationship to start. Take the time to talk. Don’t make assumptions about your roommate based on their Facebook page! Facebook is no reason to get a new roommate! Maybe just introduce yourself the first time you call them, get to know each other as people before any discussion about the room. If you’re comfortable, decide who will bring what (the TV, phone, furniture not provided like futons, etc). There is limited room in some of the dorms and you don’t want to show up at school, carry a very heavy refrigerator up to the third floor, and walk into your room to already find a refrigerator (Microfridges offered by the school save both roommates hassle in this case!) Next you may want to plan on the room décor. Come to a peaceful solution that both of you can agree upon, after all, no one wants to live in a room with so many stuffed animals or posters that you feel watched at any given moment. Find a common theme and discuss personal space. You will find that to maximize your personal space organizers and under-bed storage are lifesavers! Consider what height you want your bed at, if you have it set high you have more space for storage underneath, but if you tend to roll out of bed in the mornings it may not be a very good idea and you’ll want to consider more shelving or desk organizing options. Check out this website for more dorm decorating tips!
By just discussing these common room issues, you are well on your way to having a better relationship with your roommate. Now do not get me wrong, we do not expect you and your roommate to be best friends who never separate the instant you meet, we just expect that you’ll be able to live together and share a space. If for some reason all of the above is done and you still cannot stand to live with the person you were put with, you have options. As a R.A. this is what my advice would be. Talk to your roommate first. If it is something small bothering you, like lights on after you go to sleep, or too many visitors, you may be able to resolve the issue quiet easily, perhaps your roommate didn’t even realize it was an issue to begin with! If you try that and it still does not work, do not complain to the housing coordinator! Getting on the housing coordinator’s bad side will do you no good if you have to move later! Talk to your R.A. Believe it or not, we are trained to handle this type of thing. We will try to mediate the situation and if nothing else can be done we will take your concern to Residence Life and start the procedure for having you moved. It’s all very simple, right? 
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