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- "Don't Put Me in a Room With a Neat Freak!"
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- By Jan McCoy Ebbets
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- Related Articles:
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- Smart Studying for First-Years
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- So, What's It Like to Be a Rookie?
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- Any first-year who's beginning to think that her roommate is a rube
and who misses friends from home is far from unique. Learning to get along
with a new roommate is often the first big hurdle of college life.
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- "First-years bring to college a sense of relief about finally
having arrived at Smith but also a sense of dislocation and grieving for
what they've left behind," notes Pam McCarthy, associate director
of health services. What's more, she says, learning to share a room with
someone who may be very different from you offers another developmental
challenge.
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- That's where the roommate contract developed by the Office of Student
Affairs comes in handy, says Nancy Asai, associate dean of student affairs/residence
life. Because most new students are assigned to double rooms, the contract
lets roomies examine each other's personal styles and preferences and communicate
their likes and dislikes in order to arrive at compromises and thwart problems.
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- The contract, a questionnaire to be filled out by each roommate, asks
about specific domestic likes and dislikes. For instance, do you prefer
to study in your room with complete quiet or loud music? Preferences for
everything from living in a (quiet or noisy) room that is (neat or messy)
are explored. Roomies are also asked to confront and discuss issues that
might arise with overnight guests, late-night phone calls, and windows
(open, closed, depends on the weather, no preference).
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- "The idea is to create an atmosphere where no assumptions are
made about anything-whether it's how to share a bathroom, who picks up
the room, or how much privacy each person needs," Asai explains.
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- Roommates are matched according to the answers they supplied on the
housing form sent to them in May. Entering students are also given a choice
of areas of campus and the size of the residential house they'd like to
be in, although not all student requests can be fulfilled. House assignments
are made in July, and roommates are encouraged to be in touch with one
another over the summer.
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- Not all roommates end up best friends. Nevertheless, the college expects
roommates to try to work out their problems before requesting a room change.
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- If problems aren't easily resolved, help is always available from campus
counseling services, head residents, house community advisers and heads
of new students (HONS) in the houses. The HONS, in fact, administer the
roommate contract and introduce both entering and transferring students
to the intellectual and social life of Smith.
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- "The HONS facilitate discussions," Asai says. "They
sit the house residents down in groups and go over this contract. It's
something we've developed to help with problem areas, and it's an important
tool to encourage communication between roomies."
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