A guide for Settling Conflicts with Roommates
A guide for Settling Conflicts with Roommates
  • Reporter Reo Ye-jin
  • 승인 2011.10.12 19:27
  • 댓글 0
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Most students at POSTECH are living in dormitories and have roommates. Therefore, the roommate could be the most significant friend in the university. However if we have conflicts with a roommate, we will face lots of difficulties every day. There are some examples and solutions advised by a counselor working in the POSTECH counseling office in order to help those who have conflicts with their roommates.

Situation1. A student is a morning person while another is a night owl. Both of them are sensitive. The morning person  likes the light to be on before he is sleeping and the night owl person is annoyed to wake up at an early time due to his roommate’s alarm.
Answer: Although the problem can be directly solved by changing the roommate, it is not the best solution. One solution is just to understand each person as they are. Since they have grown used to their own patterns, both of them should accept that it is hard to change life patterns now. However, they can each try to adapt by using cover of typewriter, a sleep shade, and desk light.

Situation2. A student is a very organized person while his roommate is unorganized. His roommate messes up all of his stuff on the floor and his bed. Therefore, he always cleans up the room alone, being annoyed at his roommate. His roommate does not do any chores which they need to do in turns.
Answer: Though the student cannot care about piles of books and clothes on his roommate’s desk and bed, his roommate should clean up the place where they use in common such as the middle path between the individual beds and toilet. The roommate should try to organize things as much as possible. It will be helpful in the roommate’s future if he could try to accustom himself to organize his place. Moreover, they need to make a compromise to allot the common work. They can divide the work in half or they can take turns for each chore.

Situation3. A student noticed that his roommate uses his stationary and printer without asking. Moreover, his roommate takes out any food from the refrigerator and eats it without permission although they are in the room together. Moreover, he uses his tissue and A4 paper every time, but he never purchases them.
Answer: There is a correct answer in this situation. It is common courtesy to ask people before using their materials. Some people do not ask for permission because they are close enough; however, as close as they are, people need to keep etiquette. If a roommate is not in his room, he should ask for permission by sending a message or calling.

Situation4. A student recognized that his materials disappeared. Since it started with very small things, he just ignored it. However, as time passes, more important things start to go missing. Therefore, he suspects his roommate; however, he does not have any evidence for it.
Answer: In this case, the student should tell his roommate that his materials keep vanishing. However, he should not fully blame his roommate because it can hurt his presentation. However, by mentioning that he is aware of this situation, he can warn and make his roommate stop stealing. However, if it continues to happen, he’d better to tell the truth and solve the problem.

Since most Postechians have a roommate, it is possible to face conflicts with roommates in the future. Consequently, we need to solve these wisely through consideration to each other and conversation in order to enjoy our lives in the dormitories with roommates.