The Roommate Rage

By Danny Atten, Opinions section staff writer

As we begin second semester at IMSA, we have seniors skipping and sophomores slacking.  We are once again sucked into the stressful whirlpool that is any semester here.  Projects, papers, and tests are back to full load as teachers and students get into the normal swing of things. Yet, in this start-up stress, we, the underclassmen, are expected to find a person with whom we want to share our personal space, a person whom we are fortunate enough to see every day.  Many, particularly sophomores, are worrying about their housing for next year.  It is prudent to remember that in the end, the extra stress caused by roommate worries is unnecessary and unfounded.

The single, the double, and the godly quad, all teasing, all precious, all stress-causing agents to sophomores, dominate our lives on a daily basis.  Our upperclassmen constantly have to remind us to relax and that housing needn’t be decided for a while, yet. They are forever amused by the worried, little sophomores.  One of their main pieces of advice deals with rooming in a particular wing or hall.  In the words of junior Sunny Shah, “It’s not all about whether you’re in a quad, or who your roommate is, instead, it’s better to think of the hall as a whole.  In-room is little more than a figment of your imagination, so in the end, it doesn’t really matter if you’re in a particular wing.”

Some further advice from other upperclassmen:  Don’t make promises now or even soon; things change.  You don’t want your decision to be affected by a promise you made long ago.  It’s better for all, because the closer it gets to housing, the better you will know people, and the better decision you’ll make.  You don’t want to end up reneging on promises and stabbing people in the back.

In the end, it’s better not to worry about housing, now especially. There is a time for everything, and now is not the time to worry about housing.  Rather, use the time you have now to focus on homework and start the semester on a good note.