Residence Life survey may be expanded over the next couple years

We've heard them all: stories of the roommates who smell, stay up all night and play raging music in the wee hours of the morning.

While some students live out these experiences, others say a more extensive roommate-matching process would help solve potential conflicts before they start. But housing officials say changes in the system are not likely to happen soon.

And any changes that may be in the pipeline will be small, said Pamela Obando, associate director of marketing for Housing and Residence Life.

"We are developing a survey, but it will probably be a little over a year before it is implemented," Obando said. "It will be small though, frankly, only three or four questions."

Lindsay Going, a marketing junior, is one student who has had difficult roommate experiences. Going said her freshman year roommate was a concern from the very beginning.

"When we had that infamous summer phone call, the first question she asked me was, 'Do you like Hot Pockets?'" she said.

Upon move-in, Going noticed that her roommate had moved-in an illegal extra freezer, and inside it was a stockpile of Hot Pockets, frozen pretzels and ice cream.

Throughout the year, her roommate stockpiled garbage, including soda cans, which she saved for weekend trips to Phoenix for recycling.

"At one point, we had eight pizza boxes in the room. But they were everywhere, so it felt like there were at least 20," Going said.

Obando suggests that residents currently living in an unpleasant situation should speak to their RAs.

"The first weekend that students are in the dorm, they fill out what we call a lifestyle agreement," Obando said.

Obando said this agreement is kept on file, and if a problem comes up, the resident assistant is trained to go over the agreement with the students and discuss solutions. If the resident is not satisfied, Obando said the next step is to speak with his or her hall director.

Obando added that Residence Life staff, such as RAs and hall directors, work hard to prevent hall or room transfers, and work to encourage conflict resolution with residents.

Stephanie Pisano, an elementary education freshman, agreed that a roommate survey would be a benefit to new residents.

"There should most definitely be more questions on the housing application," Pisano said.

"Living with someone totally different from you causes so many problems," she said. "If you are a neat freak living with a messy person, it will only be the beginning of the other problems."

Other universities have policies in place to deal with mismatched roommate situations.

The University of Oregon has a survey as part of its residence life application that takes into account personal hours, friends, social life, approach to cleanliness, music preferences and age, said Tenaya Meaux, assistant director of marketing for the University of Oregon University Housing.

"The survey helps to eliminate certain kinds of roommate challenges," Meaux said. "But it does not eliminate all of the factors."