A critical element for roommate survival is mutual respect. Be aware of your own rights while also being sensitive to your roommate’s. A few other suggestions are listed below that may help you to have a positive experience with a roommate or suitemate:

Spend time with your roommate and talk about your similarities and differences. It is also important to agree on ground rules for your room.  This should be mutually agreed upon expectations and not dictated by one roommate to the other.

Set up the guidelines for sharing. Is it okay to borrow his possessions? May I use her computer? Would he mind if I ate some of his crackers? Some roommates don’t mind these things and others do. Find out how your roommate feels and make sure to let him or her know how you feel as well.

Spend some time talking about cleanliness and how you want the room or suite to be maintained. Dirty dishes and sweaty clothes left around the room often cause feuds that could easily be avoided.

Coordinate your study schedules. Do you study during the day or late at night? Can he study with the radio or TV on or does it need to be completely quiet?

Talk about visitors coming to your room or suite. How does your roommate feel about you staying up late talking to friends? Does he or she socialize during the week or only on weekends? What about guests?

Keep the lines of communication open. Let your roommate know when something is bothering you. Chances are he or she doesn’t even realize there is a problem. Be respectful and remember that your roommate is human.

Meet other people. Don’t depend on your roommate to meet all of your social needs.

In situations when you are having trouble working things out with your roommate, it is often less a question of who is right or wrong and more an issue of communication and compatibility. Sometimes it takes someone who is not directly involved to assist in this process. If by chance you cannot work out differences with your roommate, contact one of the residential staff. They have been trained in arbitration and conflict resolution. RA’s and Hall Directors are very much aware of what residence hall living is all about and can be of great assistance in working things out between roommates. If you do not feel your issues are being addressed properly, come by the Residence Life office and speak with the Director.