DeKALB | Many NIU students live with roommates; for various reasons, however, some students live alone.

“I originally had roommates, but they moved out,” said senior psychology major Lisa Lambert. “Once I leave school, I’ll want one, but I am a senior now and I don’t want to be distracted.”

While some students agree that living alone makes it easier to study, other students say that living alone makes it harder to study.

“I studied better when I had a roommate,” said Ivette Marquez, a junior nutrition and dance double major. “We encouraged each other to study. I study better in a group setting.”

When a student lives alone, they miss out on a potential good friend, said Laura Smart, chair of the school of family, consumer and nutrition sciences.

“Some people are fortunate and end up with a roommate who becomes a good friend,” she said. “Others learn how to tolerate another person, and this is a good thing for the student’s growth and development.”

Junior business management major Ben Farquhar said that even though it is easier to study while living alone because of fewer distractions, living by himself was not his first option.

“I wish I lived in a house with two or three roommates,” he said. “This wasn’t my first choice. My roommate dropped out.” Even though some students living alone have a hard time meeting friends, others said living alone has no effect on thier social life.

“I have friends off campus,” Marquez said. “I also am part of the Sigma Lambda Gamma sorority.” Jeremy Hillard, a sophomore electrical engineering major, also says his social life hasn’t been ruined.

“Living alone doesn’t affect my social life,” Hillard said. “I have the same friends as last year. I don’t believe that having a single makes me anti-social.” Marquez also said a student’s social life can depend on the floor they live on. She said some dorm room floors make it easier to become social.

“Single rooms with a common area would allow students to interact,” she said, “but not force them to have a level of physical closeness that can be very uncomfortable, depending on the luck of the draw.”

Jermaine Pigee is a Campus Reporter for the Northern Star.