Now that duffel bags have been unpacked and awkward introductions exchanged, freshmen can begin to evaluate their roommate situation: is it heaven or hell?
Although some can tolerate their roommates, there are still two options available for those wishing to switch.
Starting tomorrow, students who entered their names into the waitlist lotteries for each residence hall can obtain their numbers from the waitlist website. For those who have not yet entered the lottery, entries can still be submitted after tomorrow, but will be placed at the bottom of the list.
According to University Housing’s website, residence halls are full and will not permit much movement on the waitlist.
As a second option, if a student finds someone who is willing to switch rooms, room swaps can be made at the front desk of their residence hall for a fee of $30 per person.
Generally, students seem to be able to tolerate their roommates – even though some believe it is not always necessary to be best friends.
“The first night we got there, we talked for five hours straight, and everything was very comfortable. We don’t hang out much, though,” said LSA freshman Adrienne Call, who lives in Mary Markley Residence Hall.
No matter how well roommates get along, most share an embarrassing or awkward moment while living together 24 hours a day, including when “visitors” stop by.
John Stiglich, an LSA freshman and Markley resident from Illinois, overheard his roommate talking with a girl late one night in their room.
“I was faking sleep in my bed. Nothing really eventful happened between them, though. The next morning they tried to wake me, but I faked sleep again. As they left for breakfast, I caught a peek of the girl,” Stiglich said.
He later found out, to his surprise, that his roommate had been bragging to other residents that he “got this girl to sleep with him,” which Stiglich knew was not necessarily true. When asked by one of his neighbors to rate her on a scale of one to 10, Stiglich replied with a “negative two.”
“Every time he’s around we always drop ‘negative two’ into the conversation. The moral of the story is, get a roommate who goes for women in the positive range of the ten point scale,” Stiglich said.
Jason Ruchim is another Markley resident who was less than pleased with his roommate’s choice of guests.
Ruchim said his roommate, Dave Razen, met a girl at a fraternity party and brought her back to their residence hall – sending Ruchim to the hall lounge for the night. His roommate came to get him at 4 a.m.
“The girl fell asleep in his bed, and we tried to move her off of the bed, but she wouldn’t roll over. Louis had to sleep on the floor that night, and we ended up calling her ‘the log’ after that,” Ruchim said.
Even though many roommates get along well, not all students like the neighbors on their floor. Alyssa Fetini, an LSA freshman in Mosher-Jordan Residence Hall, needed to borrow a pair of scissors on the first day in her hall. She found one door open.
“I told her I lived in her hall, and wondered if I could borrow some scissors. She didn’t turn around, she didn’t stop typing on her computer, she just said no. I backed out slowly and left,” Fetini said. That was the only “semi-open” door on her floor.
“Every time we walk down the hall, we mutter under our breath, ‘Open your doors’ or we knock on them as we pass.”
To find out if you are eligible to swap rooms, or place an advertisement for a room swap, log on to http://www.housing.umich.edu/info/rmswaps.html. To enter the housing waitlist, check http://www.housing. umich.edu/ info/waitlists.html.