YouSpeak: Living with Roommates
Communication essential, say students
Log onto the internet and you’ll find literally dozens of sites offering advice about how to get along with your college roommate. And it’s easy to see why. Sharing a 10-foot-by-10-foot dorm room with a complete stranger is no easy task, especially if you’ve never shared a room before. Negotiating who cleans the bathroom, figuring out when it’s OK to borrow a roommate’s sweater, and how to handle overnight visits from your roommate’s boyfriend or girlfriend—these all take work.
Students who’ve been through the experience say the most important thing is to communicate: be clear about your expectations, don’t let problems fester, and be flexible.
“You might want to communicate more than you actually think is enough,” advises Emilio Teran (ENG’15).
So, as a new semester begins, “YouSpeak” asks students: How do you cope with having a college roommate?
“YouSpeak” typically appears each Monday.
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