After moving away from home to attend college, the emotion that most likely takes over freshmen is fear. At least it’s nice for them to know that everyone else moving into their residence halls is experiencing that same fear.
This year, some freshmen were caught by surprise when they were told they would be rooming with upperclassmen.
The Office of University Housing and Residential Life changed its housing assignment process for new students because of the increase in freshman students attending the university for the Fall 2008 semester.
Freshman psychology major Lisa Long currently lives with a freshman, a sophomore and a junior living in Temple Towers.
Like any other freshman, Long chose three residence halls for her living arrangement at Temple. She was wait-listed for two residence halls and didn’t know what to expect.
Long had no idea that she would be living in Temple Towers when she first signed up for housing. She said the situation is working out fine.
“Once the four of us moved in, our older roommates took us around campus a little and showed us where to eat and [gave us] a quick tour of where the buildings for classes were,” Long said.
According to the Web site for the Office of University Housing and Residential Life, students of varying academic classes may be placed in the same living situation due to the extreme increase in enrollment since 2006.
Though it seems natural for freshmen to feel intimidated when becoming assimilated to dormitory-style living, students don’t want to appear immature or feel inferior to their upperclassmen roommates.
For Long’s roommate Brandi Hargette, the situation was flipped. Hargette lived in the Edge with one roommate when she was a freshman and was surprised to hear that she would be living with a freshman during her sophomore year. Though she didn’t know what to expect, the situation turned out to be a learning experience for both parties.
It may seem like a tough experience to get used to, but it is possible to develop a productive living environment if all of the roommates remain positive and work together.
“I thought it would be tough at first,” Long said, “but we’re all becoming good friends.”
Cassandra Lund can be reached at cassie.lund@temple.edu.
Be the first to comment