For new, transfer and international students, living in a college dormitory may be a new experience. Having a roommate that’s three feet away from you and neighbors that are a thin wall away, knowing how to be respectful in the dorms is important. NIU has its own housing handbook which students can view online. In addition to the handbook, students are expected to follow NIU’s Code of Student Conduct which lists what is and isn’t acceptable behavior.
VOLUME
Volume is arguably one of the main issues students have with their next-door neighbors. Students who have shared a bedroom with a sibling will be particularly good at keeping it down. Those thin walls are not an exaggeration, and voices carry through them.
If you’re in the mood to listen to your music as loud as it can go, risk hearing loss by plugging in earbuds instead of using a speaker. When on a phone call or FaceTime, talk quietly. When you feel yourself getting loud or excited, it doesn’t take much effort to exit the room and take the call in your floor’s common room. If your roommate is present, they’ll appreciate the thought as well.
Sometimes we don’t realize how loud we are until someone points it out, and you do not want that person to be your CA if it becomes a regular occurrence. Each dorm floor will have its own quiet hours which everyone must follow, especially when it gets to midterms/finals week. If you know you’re a loud person, following the above common courtesies will be a good habit to get into before the end of the semester hits.
SMELL
Being cognizant of the smells your room is producing will not only please your neighbors but your entire floor. Whether it be trash, food or smoke, smell carries far and wide much like volume does. Clean up after yourself and be sure to take out your trash regularly and throw out any food you have that’s been sitting in the fridge for too many weeks.
Smoking is not allowed on campus, and CA’s are required to call the NIU Police Department if they know which room is doing it. Of course, college kids don’t listen and smoke in the dorms anyway. Even with the windows open, the smell wafts through your dorm and out onto your floor, stinking it up. In some cases, the smell can reach inside your neighbor’s rooms, giving those students an unpleasant surprise.
DOWNSTAIRS NEIGHBORS
You have neighbors to the right and left of you, but your neighbors downstairs tend to be forgotten. Be a decent human being and don’t vacuum your room at 3 a.m. The dorm vacuums are quite loud, and the sound carries downward the same way it does to the sides. Accidentally dropping your hydro flask can be forgiven, but moving heavy furniture or making random stomping noises can easily annoy others, especially when it’s occurring at night. So, don’t forget about your faceless neighbors a floor below you.
