3/12/2004

Establishing roommate guidelines

Joe Murphy
Daily Kent Stater

Kent State sophomore Dan Maag said his advice to students for choosing a roommate is to not live with someone you also have to work with.

“I lived with this guy and worked with him, and it was just too much to handle,” said Maag, computer information systems major.

Kent State students have both positive and negative experiences with roommates in college. Most students have some guidelines for roommates before they move in with them. Maag said his former roommate rarely followed his guidelines.

“I wanted the living room and the bathroom to stay clean,” he said. “My roommate would always leave a pile of garbage on the floor and dishes in the sink. I would always just pick his stuff up and throw it into a big pile in his room so he couldn’t open the door.”

Maag said things are much better with his new roommate. He said his new roommate has followed his two rules.

“The only rules I have are that they are responsible and can keep up with me at partying,” he said.

John Kozlik, freshman psychology major, agrees with Maag’s rules.

“I only have three rules,” Kozlik said. “They have to keep the house clean, pay the bills on time and they always need to bring chicks to the house.”

Lindsey Cecala, sophomore deaf education major, said she is looking for a roommate who is respectful.

“I need someone who can respect my space and my sleeping hours,” Cecala said. “Everything falls under respect. I need someone who keeps the same hours as me and has similar interests. If they have opposite interests, it’s going to be hard to talk about stuff.”

Some students, such as Rachel Dodds, senior Spanish translation major, have had some unforgettable experiences with their roommates.

“My roommate came home one night after a party and tried to cook something on the stove,” said Dodds. “She turned on the stove and passed out. My other roommate came home later and saw smoke seeping out from under the front door.”

Dodds said she gets along with her roommates most of the time.

“We bicker about stupid stuff,” she said. “We have a good time together though.”

Sophomore exploratory major Bob Hawkins said he and his six roommates also have a good time.

“I came home one day, and they were making a mural of all of us on the wall,” he said. “I walk in, and they are drawing rude things on the picture of me.”

Hawkins said the only rule for the mural was you couldn’t draw on your own picture.

“So, I just went over and started drawing all over them,” he said jokingly. “Most of them are art majors, so they are always doing something. I always come home and find them involved in some strange project.”

Sonja Ludwikowski, graduate student in translation, said roommates need to always communicate.

“I had a roommate who I didn’t talk to enough,” Ludwikowski said. “Things kept adding up and we ended up having a huge fight at the end of the semester.”

Ludwikowski said it wouldn’t have been as bad if she had talked to her roommate more.

“You have to be able to communicate and work things out,” she said.

E-mail: jsmurphy@kent.edu