;; Vi
Mediation
can settle
roommate
conflicts
Students share insights about solving problems
with roommates who are too difficult or different
Allyson Goldstein
Freelance Reporter
For most students, getting to know a new roommate is an
exciting experience. But for others, it signifies the beginning
of a yearlong nightmare.
No matter how hard they try to get along, some people just
cannot live together. Whether conflicts arise from schedul
ing, music choice or cleanliness, some roommates will sim
ply drive each other crazy.
Freshman Danielle Kellar experienced firsthand the diffi
culties of having a roommate she could not get along with.
She recalls her roommate was more of a parent figure.
“She told me when to clean my half of the room and when
to go to bed,” Kellar said. She added most of their conflicts
resulted from scheduling difficulties.
“My roommate was a member of the crew team, and so
she went to bed every night at 7:30 and woke up at 4,” Kellar
said. “She wouldn’t let me be in the room while she was
sleeping, either.”
According to Julia Hill, a resident assistant in Hawthorne
Hall, problems between roommates occur when one room
mate has unreasonable expectations of the other. She said
communication and compromise can help to alleviate these
issues, as long as each roommate is willing to empathize with
the other and try to understand his or her point of view.
In Kellar’s case, she and her roommate were such oppo
sites they ended up separating.
“There was no way to work it out; we were both stub
born,” Kellar said. “We didn’t click, and our chemistry just
didn’t match.”
Freshman Maria Chipman also had significant roommate
problems at the beginning of this school year and eventually
had to split up with her roommate when their differences
could not be resolved.
“At first, we tried to go to a mediator to solve our prob
lems, but my roommate refused to compromise,” Chipman
said. “She got up and left in the middle of the mediation ses
sion and refused to communicate. She even tried to ban my
mom from ever entering the room.”
Roommate disagreements are not unique to this Univer
sity alone. Ben Dolan-Williardson, a freshman at Whittier
College in Los Angeles, describes his roommate as possibly
the worst he’s ever had.
“He’s loud, rude, obnoxious and has poor hygiene,” Dolan
Williardson said. “For instance, he purposely played his mu
sic extra loud at four in the morning when he knew I had to
make a 12-hour drive the next day.”
Dolan-Williardson said he and his roommate still have not
worked out their differences.
“We just don’t talk now,” he said.
Turn to Roommates, page 15B
Low-budget furniture shopping can be easy
when students bargain hunt at thrift stores
and yard sales / Page 5B
Students find creative ways to decorate their
blank walls, by using paint, cultural themes
and framed photos / Page 8B
ISIIIIIIf
Students who want to take on the
responsibility of having a pet sometimes try
to hide their pets from landlords / Page13B