Getting along with your roommate
By Valencia Stevenson | Published March 1, 2018
It is a new semester and you are dorming on campus with 2,000 students at Kean University. Whenever it is your first time dorming, whether with a friend or stranger, sharing a living space with someone can have its challenges. But it can be a pleasant experience if you follow some advice on getting along with your roommate.
Students connect through KeanWise to fill out a form on which dorms they’d prefer to live in and pick their average sleep schedule, study and cleanliness habits, etc. to help Residential Student Services (RSS) match roommates. Students can also request to live with their friends.
When moving into residence halls, students work with a Resident Assistant (RA) to complete a Roommate Agreement form to help set expectations within the dorm. Expectations such as sharing of items and guest visitation are discussed during the agreement.
“From the RA perspective, I think that living with people does have its challenges,” said Danielle Cunningham, second floor RA at Rogers Hall. “I’ve seen the best of friends become the worst of friends, but I think a good way to make sure the person you’re living with is compatible with you is to keep that line of communication because communication is a big thing especially when it comes to living with new people and dealing with new personalities.”
When living on campus, you are exposed to a variety of personalities. It is wise to communicate with someone to know what you have a problem with so everyone can be on the same page on the living arrangements. You can always go to RSS, located in Whiteman Hall, for assistance and problems.
“I guess if you’re living with friends, just lay out the rules with what you like or what you don’t like because you don’t want to ruin the friendship with little things, a lot of people do that,” said Linda Velez, senior, at Kean.
Roommates tend to argue due to miscommunication. For instance, when someone has their significant other over all the time and it is disturbing the roommate. Furthermore, when someone is not taking the time to clean up after themselves and making a mess.
“You definitely want to get to know your roommate first to generally know the types of things they like and don’t like. One of the main icebreakers is finding out if they are in a relationship because that is usually the main feud with college kids,” said Ayyub Abdur-Razzaq, junior, at Kean. “You also want to know what they can tolerate and won’t tolerate, what time they wake up, their class schedule because from what I’ve seen, living on campus for three years, most of the feuds that happen are basically due to relationships, sleep, and cleanliness.”
Jennifer M. Van Dyk, Coordinator of Housing Services for RSS mentioned that many roommate conflicts stem from miscommunication and advises students to have a conversation with their roommate. She also stated that the housing applications for next year are now available on Keanwise and everyone must submit their application fee by 4 p.m. on March 9.
It’s a new experience to live with a stranger when you decide to dorm on campus. Communicate with your roommate to make sure you are on the same page.