As the saying doesn’t go, when the bunk
bed is a-rocking, make sure the door is locked.
College is a time of previously unknown freedom, except for one problem: roommates.
In underclassmen dorms and upperclassmen
apartments privacy is often rare. Alonetime
with that special someone can be even
more difficult.
Imagine having that perfect date. The
connection is totally there, the eye contact is intense and you can’t keep your hands off each other. You arrive back to your dorm room, only to find your roommate there with no intention of leaving – a common dilemma for many college students.
Of course, walls don’t talk, but some
roommates speak up.
“I think my roommates have just come to
accept the fact that I am loud and that I don’t really care if they can hear me,” said junior BTMM major Daniel Lonergan.
From the other side of the bed, Karen
York, a freshman biology major who lives in
1940 Residence Hall, had a situation get so out of hand that she had to switch rooms.
“My roommate would bring her boyfriend
into the room almost every morning
around 3 a.m.,” she said. “I put up with it for awhile, but eventually I had my room changed because I just couldn’t handle it anymore.”
However, some students endure the
experience quietly, wincing the night away
sleeplessly. Such was the case for sophomore fashion merchandising management major Kaitlyn Ray, who lives in University Village.
Ray’s roommates were never the problem. Instead, it was the neighbors upstairs.
“Maybe about once a month, my roommates
and I are woken up at six in the morning
by the people above us having sex,” Ray said.
“It’s horrible. We can hear it throughout our entire four bedroom apartment, loudly.”
Many students, such as Ray, choose to
silently tolerate the experience. Ray’s tactic for her sex-crazed neighbors is earplugs. She said that earplugs combined with keeping the television at a low volume block out the noise upstairs perfectly.
Other students, like junior psychology
major Andrea Krutsick, said that she and her roommates have a very straightforward technique: “sex-iled, plain and simple.”
Peabody Hall Resident Director Yamile
Perez reported five roommate dilemmas this
year in her building alone. Perez said that
both roommates are required to sign a code
of conduct in the beginning of the year. Yet, most roommates never take the time to read it before signing.
So if that special someone is going to
be making a guest appearance in the room,
review the code of conduct, which states:
“Residents must obtain the agreement of their roommate(s), in advance, for a guest or visitor to visit and/or remain in the room overnight.”
Perez said that once he clarifies this code
of conduct, it usually puts an end to the roommate problem.
However, sometimes discussing the code
of conduct is not enough. Director of Housing Michael Scales emphasized the consequences for violating the code.
“If a student fails to comply with this policy, it can result in loss of guest privileges for a minimum of 10 business days or a disciplinary hearing with sanctions,” he said.
Sophomore elementary education major
Brad Kline said that, as a freshman, he was unaware of this policy.
“It doesn’t really seem fair that my roommate has potential control over a room that is half mine,” Kline said. “They should make this policy more clear when you are moving in.”
Whether the problem is intentional disrespect or simply a misunderstanding, a horny roommate doesn’t have to equal a miserable school year.
The next time a visitor is going to be
making a late-night guest appearance in your room, make sure the code of conduct is freshly reviewed, and if nothing else, check to see that your roommate has an excellent pair of headphones.
Rachel Knorr can be reached at
rachel.knorr@temple.edu.
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