The ins and outs of roommate etiquette

R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Learn what it means to you and  your roommate.

By establishing a plan for sleep, study and social times, it will be beneficial in having a successful year at college.

Roommate agreements will be provided by the community adviser in the dorms to sign. This will be done after discussing what things are on and off limits, and therefore outlines the lives of the roommates so they can better understand each other. That way, both roommates are on the same level.

However, there are some basic, unwritten, common sense rules to go by regarding a roommate.

Respect your roommate’s things. If it’s on their side, don’t touch it. Leave it alone unless they told you it’s OK to borrow things. There may be boundaries or areas where it is really not OK for them to cross. Find out what they are.

Be considerate. If you walk into the room and find your roommate sleeping, try your best not to be loud. If you have to do something in the room, do it quietly.

College days can be hard, and sometimes 20 minutes is all a person has to spare to get away from that stress and those worries. It can be the perfect amount of time for a quick nap before embarking on that 10-page paper.

Be prepared. The person you are assigned to — or choose to live with — will be a pretty big part of college life. You sleep in the same room as this person, get ready in the same room as this person, eat and study there, too. That all adds up to a whole lot of time.

Then again, you can choose how often to see that person or how much you want to interact with him or her.

It should be worked out when guests can come over and for how long they stay. This may lead to building friendships with the ‘I met him/her through him/her’ connection. The ones you meet in college will most likely be the friends you have for life.

Make sure to tell your roommate about any weird habits you have. Let him or her know what to expect with your lifestyle or how you plan to live your first year of college.

Having a roommate can either go very well and end in a lasting friendship, or  it can go the opposite way.

Hopefully this helps clear some things up and will set a good foundation for a fantastic year.