Sam (not his real name) has a lot to say about his experience with his roommates, showing that roommates can either be best friends or worst enemies.
"I was excited to enter [Minnesota State] and was expecting a great dormitory life," said Sam.
Unfortunately, Sam's hopes and dreams did not last long.
The problem was that his first roommate was not nice to him.
Sam said his roommate used his stuff and ate his food without his permission, but the biggest problem was the roommate's binge drinking.
He decided to switch rooms after the night his drunken roommate broke his refrigerator.
"It was about a month after I had met him first. I just couldn't put up with him anymore," Sam said.
He moved to another room and met a new roommate who was totally different from the first, and got along with him for the rest of the semester.
"I think we had a pretty similar way of thinking and lifestyle, so we worked out for sure," Sam said.
Sam said he now lives off-campus, while he still lives in the dorms.
"I still talk to him often, and actually stayed in his apartment during winter break," Sam said.
Sam said it seems to be lucky to meet a good roommate unless one chooses one ahead of time.
Roommate conflicts may originate from various causes like having friends of the opposite sex stay overnight or different bedtimes.
Sampson Bezu, who has been a community advisor in Crawford for two years, said making a roommate agreement is a good way to stay away from conflicts.
"Before anything happens, we suggest you guys go over that [roommate agreement] first," said Bezu.
The roommate agreement is a document to write down both residents' agreement on sleeping, cleaning using the other's property, having guests, etc.
Bezu said cases like Sam's are rare because roommate conflicts generally occur because of small differences, such as certain habits like listening to radio when sleeping.
Most of the people who come to him regarding their trouble with roommates talk about things like keeping quiet hours or turning off lights while sleeping.
"If your roommate violates the agreement, you would come to your CA. As a mediator, I would hear both sides," Bezu said.
He said if the problem was not solved, he would bring the case to a hall director or area director so that they can have a discussion in a bigger group.
Nicole Faust, area director of Crawford, said she's seen roommates that have had completely opposite habits.
Faust tries to emphasize the importance of dialogue that is most likely to solve the problem, but when the dialogue doesn't lead to compromise, she will find an open room.
"That's always an option too, if we have space available," said Faust.
Yoon-Ki Kim is a Reporter staff writer
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