Lifestyle strife can cause headaches
■Students, psychologists advise
screening future roommates well
By Kathryn Franz
for the Emerald
When junior Parrish Danforth lived in
the residence halls, he didn’t get to
choose his roommate — and he ended
up with a man who slept with a sword.
Danforth chose his next roommate
based on the feet that they bonded over bad
roommate experiences. If he were to con
tinue to choose roommates based on mu
tual roommate troubles, his list of candi
dates could include the majority of the
population.
Bertram Malle, a social psychologist
at the University, calls the matter of
choosing roommates “judgment under
uncertainty”; the decision is important
and is usually made with very little in
formation. It’s a decision people signifi
cantly fret over that usually ends with a
plenitude of regrets, Malle said.
For the student population, the issue
of roommates is a big one. Although
there are many students who carefully
pick their housemates, many people
end up choosing roommates based on
convenience and financial concerns.
Junior Charles Evrett wanted to cut
down on living expenses, so he looked
for a roommate and responded to an ad
he saw on an announcement board in
March. Since they moved in together,
the two have had financial disagree
ments, and the roommate has a pregnant
girlfriend he fights with at least twice a
day, shouting and screaming in the
small apartment, Evrett said.
Because of the lease Evrett signed,
he feels trapped in his current room
mate situation.
“I don’t know if I can ask him to move
out, but if I could I would,” Evrett said.
Situations like these lead some psy
chologists to advise that people get to
know potential roommates before mov
ing in with them.
“Having a cup of coffee with someone
isn’t going to be representative of how
you will get along,” Malle said. The
most reliable way to find a good room
mate is to spend a lot of test time with
that person, he said.
Senior Seth Rigeles has experienced a
variety of roommates and living situa
tions, including living in a car, with
friends and with strangers. He currently
lives with a 70-year-old woman and a
40-year-old man. Through these experi
ences, he has discovered what is really
important to him when it comes to per
sonalities in roommates.
“You don’t want to have to worry
about offending people or getting your
ass kicked,” Rigeles said.
Overall, his best living experience
was living in a shanty for four months
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