Will I get along with new roommates? What if we have completely different lifestyles? I bet those questions were once rolling around in your head before moving into your residence hall.

Leaving home and living with roommates are the first challenges almost every college student has to overcome. But if you have roommates who upset you, this makes the transition much more difficult. Therefore, it is crucial to make rules and diligently practice them as you begin to live with others.

Consider this scenario: It’s 10 p.m. on a Sunday evening and you’ve just returned to school from home. Everything looks fine in your room, you are tired and want to have a sound sleep in order to prepare for Monday’s 8 a.m. class. As soon as you settle down in bed, the door suddenly slams — it must be your roommate.  You yell at her, “Is that you, Alice? How’s your—”  

“Let the party begin!”

Before you finish the sentence, your voice is flushed away by the chanting of excitement and Maroon 5. The next morning you wake up with lazy eyes and a dizzy head. The situation in the living room is even worse: empty bottles with dripping beer on the floor, dirty dishes piling up like a small mountain in the kitchen sink and a stranger lying unconscious on the couch.

Does this sound familiar to you? It could happen to anybody with a roommate who loves to party without asking for permission first.

Preventing this situation from happening is hard, but worth trying. Some residence halls like Illini Tower may have some sort of roommate contract sheet with terms agreed upon like “no loud music after 10 p.m.” or “register your guests before entering the dorm.”  Although this sheet is not legally binding, your resident adviser would resolve these actions if you report them.

However, it is a different story for students who live in apartments where no such contracts or resident advisers exist.

Throwing a spontaneous party or allowing unsolicited entrance to the building peeks out like an iceberg, with even bigger risks you couldn’t imagine lying underneath.  The first one is losing your security deposit which can sometimes amount to even two months of rent. For example, if a drunk guest breaks furniture or tears down the wallpaper, you will have to pay for the damages before moving out.

Further, there’s no way to find out or hold a roommate accountable for the fine.  And, even if you do, it’s impossible to cite evidence as reason to ask for their money. After all, the contract is under your name. Additionally, consider the legal repercussions.  You could be in serious trouble with the police if someone under 21 is drinking, not to mention angry neighbors who can dial 911 if the noise is too disturbing. There is no way to avoid the blame, even if you insist it was your roommate and not you who invited friends over.

This is why applying the “roommate contract”  is a critical policy to transfer from residence halls to apartments.

Co-existing with your roommates is a special art that combines making concessions and taking action together. If verbal agreements and social commissions do not apply to your roommates, you should take action when your rights are violated.  

A general meeting about what rules fit everybody’s interests should be held after meeting each other. These rules can cover the wants and needs of each party, to how often to clean the bathroom.  However, it’s the punishment after violation that matters most.

For example, if someone violates the roommate code, they must pay for the consequences and the second violation should double the first one. This violation money will be used to pay for the utilities each month.

Have an open talk with your roommates about what you think! Communicate frequently to ensure a happy living environment together.  Furthermore, if none of these policies work, don’t be afraid to ask your property manager to make a roommate change for you.

Lifei is a junior in LAS.

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