Roommates.

Even the word can cause problems if new students aren’t used to living with someone.

Keith Kruchten, administrative vice president-elect of the Residence Hall Association, said the best way to handle living with a new roommate in tight corridors is to try to get to know one another.

“I highly recommend going to the events of New Student Welcome Days, and especially the RHA Block Party,” Kruchten said. “Because this way not only are you doing something together, but it affords the opportunity to meet other new students on campus.”

With every new living situation, Kruchten said that problems will occur. He said the best way to work through these situations is to talk about them in order to prevent further differences.

“Conflicts will occur, and the best way to solve them is to keep the lines of communication open,” Kruchten said. “Too often, when problems arise, roommates stop talking to each other, and this just leads to more problems and the whole problem snowballs into something huge, when it started out small.”

Freshman Lauren Mangold said communication is the key when dealing with a new living situation.

“You have to talk to your roommate about problems that can occur,” Mangold said. “You also have to be considerate of the other person.”

For Mangold, just going to dinner with her roommate helped her not only get to know her roommate better, but it also gave them an opportunity to spend time together outside of their residence hall.

“Always be considerate of each other’s space and don’t ever live with someone that you are really close with or even think you can be close with,” Mangold suggests. “It will turn out bad.”

Krista Hehl, a freshman pre-physical therapy major, also said communication is the key to a successful living situation.

“Be patient with each other,” Hehl said. “You have to be more understanding toward people. I always had my own room and was not use to sharing it. At first it was kind of weird just talking on the phone with someone else in the room, but you get used to it.”

Although there has been much debate regarding roommates living with someone they know, Kruchten said living with someone you don’t know offers opportunity to meet new people.

“Getting a random roommate is a gamble, but almost always a good one,” Kruchten said. “By living with someone you don’t know, it opens you up to a new culture, a new way of thinking, a new ‘style’ so to speak. College is about new experiences and living with someone you have never met before; it is one of the best growing exercises I can imagine.”

Alex Underwood, president of the Residence Hall Association, agreed.

“Go out together, meet new people together, have fun together,” he said. “The quickest way to bond is to have shared experiences.”