Housing

Your Roommate

Whether you find someone through our exclusive Roommate Matching System, or choose to live with a friend from high school, having a roommate will be a new experience for most students. For most students it is the first step in meeting a whole group of people who will be friends and colleagues throughout their lives. Even so, you don’t have to be best friends to be roommates. Everyone is an individual, and the differences between us are usually more interesting than troublesome. Roommates who learn compromise and consideration for one another will develop a valuable supportive relationship with respect to each other’s needs and rights.

Communication is Key

Experience has shown that discussing the following issues will help prevent misunderstandings:

  • Use of personal items
  • Food in the room
  • Study time in the room
  • Different sleeping schedules
  • Visitation and guests
  • Cleanliness/tidiness of room
  • Use of stereo/TV/telephone/computer
  • Time for socializing

Your RA is able to provide you resources, including a Roommate Agreement form that can aid in this conversation. Additionally, hall staff are trained to mediate these conversations between two roommates.  

Roommate Bill of Rights: Your enjoyment of life in University housing will depend, to a large extent, on the thoughtful consideration you demonstrate for your roommate and your neighbors. Basic rights of a roommate include the following:

  1. The right to a clean room in which to live.
  2. The right to expect that a roommate will respect your personal belongings.
  3. The right to remedy grievances. Housing staff are available for assistance in settling conflicts.
  4. The right to read and study free from undue interference in your room. Unreasonable noise and other distractions inhibit the exercise of this right.
  5. The right to sleep without undue disturbance.
  6. The right to free access to your room and facilities without pressure from a roommate.
  7. The right to personal privacy.
  8. The right to be free from fear, intimidation, and physical or emotional harm.
  9. The right to have guests during visitation hours with the expectation that the guests are to respect the rights of the host’s/hostess’s roommate and other community residents.

Remember: To be a mature adult is to accept responsibility for the welfare of others. Only you can ensure that your roommate enjoys these rights.

Need more support or resources?

Contact your Resident Assistant or a member of your hall staff for help in roommate relationships.

Roommate Change

Assignments are made based on information the student has filled out on the "Lifestyle Preference Form" which includes information such as hall preference and living habit preference.

Roommate Changes: We encourage students to remain in their assigned room for the first 10 days of each semester. This allows the university to get an official count of residency and for roommate’s time to work through some initial challenges. After ten days, students may move rooms with the permission and assistance of their hall staff.

Learn more about room changes...