By Marlon Hyde
Staff Writer
Have you ever unknowingly shared deodorant with your roommate for over a month because she borrowed it without asking? Or been confronted by your RA because your roommate said you had the devil inside of you? What about not been able to sleep at night because your roommate refused to turn their desk light off? The list of terrible roommate experiences goes on and on. If you’ve been to college, chances are, you’ve had a bad experience with a roommate. We surveyed students to hear their horror stories.
Living with someone for the first time can be an awkward and scary experience. Many people have never shared a room with anyone before, let alone a complete stranger. Can I trust this person, you might be thinking? Will they steal my stuff or murder me in my sleep? What if they’re a serial killer??
All across the country, students at colleges and universities change roommates. One of the purposes of Student Life is to help students navigate their new environments.
RAs and RDs are the first people to talk to if conflict arises.
“Residents from all over the building talk to me about their roommate issues and it’s my job to point them to the right resources,” said second floor Ryan Hall women’s Residential Assistant, Angelina O’Donnell.
There are multiple factors that go into someone being a bad roommate. Common characteristics include being messy, loud, mean, lacking communication and having an unofficial third roommate. Some may even involve illegal things in the room such as selling drugs and underage drinking.
“RDs attempt to mediate and solve a roommate issue before suggesting a room change. If a room change is necessary from there it is handled by Brian Lee,” said Ryan Hall Residential Director, Olivia Mueller. She estimates as much as 15 people moved out of Ryan while 5 moved in.
Once Brian Lee is aware that a student is requesting a room change the next step is finding a new room. “I will sit down and meet with the student discussing possible places to live. I’ll read off names of vacant rooms or give students a list of names,” said Lee.
Their priority is finding somewhere where the student will feel safe and comfortable. “My joy in this job comes from listening, acknowledging, and responding to students problems,” said Lou DiMasi.
“My roommate used to borrow and take things without asking, including my deodorant which I unknowingly was sharing with her for over a month.”
“I asked my roommate to do her dishes and then she proceeded to block me on everything and move out and said I was a horrible person and that’s the tea.”
“My roommate wouldn’t wear a bra and would borrow my shirts. Her nipples would chafe to the point where they would bleed and she’d give me back blood stained shirts.”
“One of my roommates brought home a different girl every week and had sex with them. Plus, the sex moan was pretty loud. One night, I was cooking and the girl just walked out of his room with her underclothes and said hi to me! It was pretty awkward.”
“My freshman year roommate told my RD that I had “the devil in me” the day the two week room freeze ended and secretly moved out.”
“I lived with a very OCD, clean person and she made all these weird ridiculous rules in a contract that she tried to force me to sign. Like not keeping shampoo in the shower,
unplugging the microwave, no cleaning ANY dishes in the sink (whether it’s a coffee mug, silverware or a dirty plate) even if it had no trace of food on it.”
“My freshman year roommate never left our room except to shower once a week. When I asked her for some alone time in the room, she freaked out on me and transferred.”
“My freshman year roommate was a HORRIBLE match. She would frequently be carried home passed out on weeknights and was so dirty and inconsiderate. It was so bad that we both requested to move out at the same time.”