Getting Along with Your Room / Apartment Mate
Students confront many challenges in college – including living with roommates. Roommates often become good friends but communication is a vital factor in the establishment of a solid roommate relationship. Here are some tips for you, as a student, to adjust to living with a roommate:
- Sit down and go through the UW-Parkside Room / Apartment Mate Contract with your roommate(s). The contract is designed to get students to think and talk about some of the "ground rules" of living together. It has a series of questions regarding care and use of your room, sharing belongings, pet peeves, security, visitors, and more.
- If your roommate does something that upsets you, talk with your roommate - understand each other's point of view and come to an agreement on future behavior.
- If you and your roommate encounter problems that you are unable to solve by open discussion with each other, there are Resident Advisors (RAs) living on every floor/building. RAs are trained to help students resolve differences and come to an agreeable solution. They can help, but they need to know the problem. Talk with the RA.
- Each building has a live-in Hall Director, who is a full-time professional staff member. If the RA cannot succeed in resolving the conflict, the Hall Director is another resource.
Remember - communication, patience and honesty will go a long way toward a successful roommate relationship.
