Fresh Advice: Roommates
From a sophomore student looking back at his freshman year at SCAD comes Fresh Advice, the run down on all of the SCAD programs, operations and secret tricks you need to know to make a smooth transition to SCAD life.
Roommates, best friends one day and enemies the next. Roommates and suite mates are a great way to make friends. You might share an interest in music, sports or have the same major. But, unfortunately, not all of your roommates may be your friend. Here are some tips to manage a troubled roommate situation.
There are a few steps that can possibly solve your issues.
Be direct and talk to your roommate about the issue; being passive is never the best way to handle things. You may need to sit down with them and just say what the issue is. Compromising on a solution is a good a step in the right direction.
If you live at the Hive or Montgomery Hall, suite style dorms, and have a roommate that is a night owl or just loud bothering you, ask if they would consider moving their desk to the common room. This can create a noise buffer for you.
Know that you are better than your roommate when it comes to their issues, and be aware of your own faults. It may turn out that the best solution is simply blocking them out. Ignoring someone who lives in the same room as you is hard, but can be done. If your roommate takes morning classes, you may want to consider afternoon or evening classes to not be in the room at the same time as them. Working in the library or another campus building can be a good way to get away and find some alone time.
If the issue of your roommate still exists, try having everyone in your dorm confront them. You may need to sit down as an entire group to get the point across. If it’s extreme, consider talking to your RA to organize and moderate the group sit down.
Moving is an option, but you will need to talk to your RA and Residence Life and Housing. And this is a long process, so it should be used as a worst case scenario. Besides, if you can work out your issues instead of moving in with another stranger, your odds are much higher of reaching a harmonious, or simply bearable, living arrangement.
Written by Hunter Scully.
