The Felicias

Brandon Chepenik, Khalil Gore, Jessie Rodgers

English 1102-051
Spring 2014
Connie Rothwell
The Good, The Bad, The Roommate
Looking back on your past college days - or even the days of your present - have you
ever been personally demonized or provoked by a crazy roommate? Has a former or current
roommate of yours ever infuriated you throughout every waking moment of the school year by
always borrowing and using your favorite and most prized possessions without permission or
throwing their dirty clothes everywhere leaving little to no space for walking through your own
room? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then youre certainly no stranger to the
bad roommate scenario. According to a study conducted by St. Olaf College sociologist students,
Hannah Griese and Elisabeth Vickers, the quality of the roommate relationship can determine
how comfortable students are in their own room. Nonetheless, the underlying influence behind
these obnoxious circumstances is normally just the schools housing department.
Sometimes, negative situations between assigned roommates are unavoidable, but many
times these situations could be averted, by pairing a resident student with a good roommate or
maybe even a friend. According to an article in USA Today, several colleges, however, are
completely against assigning friends as roommates. Many more are also opponents of the self-
selection process when it comes to first-year students, and see it best that the students use this
opportunity to learn how to step out of their comfort zones; some dont even reveal the identities
of roommates until the move-in day (Marklein). According to much research, however, several
first-year roommates may find that their personalities and values are so fundamentally different
that they cannot be comfortable living together or cannot respect one another, making it hard for
this goal to be accomplished (Griese).
The relationship and the level of comfort that students have with their roommate in
college can greatly affect both their social and academic life. A study conducted by both Natalie
J. Shook and Russ Clay analyzed the effects of different college roommate situations on a
student's GPA, sense of belonging, and SAT scores. The study found that those students who
come from more diverse backgrounds tend to adjust better to college life, while minority
students have a more difficult time adjusting (Shook). This shows that a students success is not
only affected by their roommate assignments, but also the background in which they grew up.
These factors play a major role in the ability of first-year college students to immerse themselves
into the college life.
It is shown that roommates in college can also have peer effects on each other, usually
leading a student to do something they would not do under normal circumstances. Strong
evidence shows that college roommates peer pressure one another into partaking in illicit acts,
such as alcohol consumption. Peer pressure commonly also leads to smoking among men, but
there is little to no evidence of such peer effects on other types of drug use or sexual activity
(Eisenberg). Studies suggest that similarities in habits among roommates prior to college tend to
lead to a closer relationship, while major differences in values or social principles tend to cause
more distant relationships among roommates.
The popular Facebook page UNCC Confessions offers us direct insight into what
students here on campus have to say about various topics including roommates and housing
issues. Here, students are able to submit anonymous confessions via SurveyMonkey. The
moderators of the page select confessions to post based on a set of regulations. People are able to
like and comment on these posts, sometimes to offer support or even criticize the anonymous
confessor. Often, people just need to vent about their roommate(s). In some cases, close quarters
make one aware of the other's personal hygiene - or lack thereof. Confession #9400 reads: My
roommate's living habits are disgusting. He throws anything underneath his bed and instead of
clipping his nails, he bites them. This includes his toes nails. I can't wait to have my own room
so I don't have to deal with this anymore. Some also bring up complaints of the lack of personal
space available to them, or their lack of comfort around their roommate. #9406: I'd feel so much
more comfortable if my roommate would just let one rip now and then. Anyone else feel the
same? (UNCC Confessions)
While certain things are probably meant to be posted as jokes, it must be kept in mind
that even though these posts are anonymous, with enough information, their roommates may be
able to guess (or possibly assume incorrectly) who wrote it and what it's about. It's been said
before that the internet is written in ink, not pencil: what's said online, even behind a veil of
anonymity, cannot be taken back. However, simply by walking around campus and talking to a
few people, students will be more than happy to give someone a detailed account of everything
their roommate does to irritate them. One individual sent me a list of no less than 13 problems
they had with their roommate, which includes: During the recent snow we had, when asked to
get milk, said "I can," left for 30 minutes, came back with pizza and a soda for him. When
questioned about this, he retorted "I said 'I can,' not 'I will,'" as well as, [He] Is the reason we
have roaches.
The following statement by sociology students Hannah Griese and Elisabeth Vickers sum
up common issues between roommates thusly: While some roommate problems revolve around
schedules or possessions, others occur due to basic disrespect of the individual in the form of
yelling, cursing, or lying. Sometimes this occurs on a regular basis and is the cause of
arguments. Disrespect by roommates, along with a lack of awareness for one's own actions,
clearly add unnecessary tension to the already stressful lives of college students. In an effort to
combat potential problems that may arise between roommates, a majority of colleges require that
on-campus residents fill out roommate agreements, which basically act as contracts for each
person sharing a designated living space. Most colleges also assign Residential Advisors -
sometimes referred to as Junior Counselors or Senior Resident - for residents within a building.
Some of the main duties of an RA include: to serve as the mediator in conflicts that may occur
between roommates, to provide advice and consolation for residents, as well as to promote
interaction between residents within the building (Housing). Aside from discussing problems
with the roommate directly, Residential Advisors are able to provide the quickest route to
resolving issues between roommates.
Per popular opinion ranging from experience as well as observation, the most effective
way to hash out future problems with a roommate is to be truthful from the very beginning, set
boundaries, and explain what you like and dislike. Only then will you and your roommate be on
the same page; if that doesnt work, then many colleges also offer the option to change rooms.
Although its a widely known fact that nobody is perfect in all their ways, no one wants to have
to deal with that crazy or messy roommate for the entirety of the school year, but sometimes it
just tends to happen.