By Lin Lawson, Student Service
Counselor
Roommate
Survival
Guide
Living in a dorm can be one of the greatest experiences during your
college career or one of the WORST! During this workshop, you’ll learn tips to
improving communication with your roommates to create a comfortable
living environment.
This workshop will give you tips on the following:
• How to make a Roommate
Contract
• How to mediate Roommate
Conflicts
ROOMMATE CONTRACTS
One of the smartest things new roommates can do to minimize conflict is to
write a roommate contract. This allows each roommate to articulate their
expectations of each other and to negotiate points that might lead to
problems. All roommates should schedule a time AT THE BEGINNING OF THE
SEMESTER to sit down, discuss the components of the contract, and sign it.
Below are a few components that you should remember in your contracts:
• Noise
• Cleanliness
• Visitors
• “Your” stuff
*The next slides will go over each component in detail!
Noise
Having a comfortable and reasonably quiet room is essential to enjoying your
living space and getting your studying done. When discussing noise with your
roommates think about the following:
•Quiet Hours: Set quiet hours for each day when you know you’ll have time
to quietly study. This may mean no music or TV during these hours, but
decide this with your roommates.
•Bed Times: Discuss when each roommate has class and when they plan to
go to bed. How will you know before
•Music: Some students like to study while listening to music while others
need complete quiet. Discuss headphone usage etc and add this to your
contract.
Cleanliness
Not everyone keeps their room the exact same way. Some people are
able to live with a little mess, while some need their room to be pristine.
Discuss with your roommates how bedrooms, common areas, and
bathrooms will be kept clean.
Here are some tips:
• Make a schedule for cleaning and what should be cleaned
• Figure out what should and shouldn’t be left out in common areas,
such as food and personal items
Visitors
In college, you’ll hopefully meet a lot of new friends. You’ll
want to hang out with these friends on campus and in your
dorm room. It’s important to speak with your roommates
about how to deal with visitors. Below are a few questions to
kick start the conversation:
•
•
•
•
How many times a week can you have visitors?
When can people visit?
How will roommates be notified about visitors?
How much time is necessary to notify your roommates of a
visitor?
• Are overnight visitors allowed?
• Are visitors of the opposite sex allowed?
“Your” Stuff
This item is extremely important for your roommate contract.
In the beginning of the semester everyone is polite, but as soon
as “your stuff” starts going missing, all gloves come off. Discuss
with your roommates how you will or WON’T be sharing your
personal items.
Can you share clothes or shoes with your roommate?
If so, should you ask first before you take?
Can you share food with your roommate? If not, how will you
make sure to separate your items?
In case of conflict….
1.
Don’t be passive aggressive – leaving notes around your room will only
make problems worse.
2.
Don’t attack your roommate – Set a time to speak with them about an
issue when you are not as upset and can make progress
3.
Getting revenge is never the answer– this creates a cycle and a bad living
environment
Ways to resolve arguments
1. Talk it out
2. Don’t bring out a laundry list
3. Review ground rules again and make necessary
changes. Hang it in a common area for review
4. Find alternatives or options that work for
everyone
5. Set up a meeting with your RA to help
Food for Thought! How far can
conflicts escalate? Is it worth it?
Maryland police charged a college student recently in the stabbing death of
her roommate over an IPod.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/16/justice/maryland-collegestabbing/index.html?iref=allsearch
Hopefully you’ve learned a few helpful tips on
ways to.
Now take this quiz to see if you’re a good
roommate:
• http://www.coolquiz.com/life/miniquiz/index.asp?quiznum=5
The End!
Have a great semester!