Freshman year brings about a lot of stresses. All the sudden you are on your own to figure out what classes to take, plan activates around your schedule, fit in doctor appointments, and so much more. On top of these new challenges falls the burden of making new friends and adjusting to an entirely new environment.
As if this wasn’t enough, all the sudden the school expects you to be ready to decide rooming at the beginning of second semester of your freshman year. Apparently you are supposed to have your entire friend group figured out and have seven best friends to enter into an 8-man with.
I find this completely ridiculous and oriented at a certain type of personality. For one, it’s unfair to assume that after only a few months into college that you have found a group of seven other girls that not only you like enough to hang out with, but also you could foresee living with them and sharing a bathroom.
Another issue I have with this rooming process is it’s completely directed at extroverts and people who love being surrounded by others twenty-four-seven. The whole system is based on the idea that everyone loves the idea of living in a suite with as many of their friends as possible. Well, that’s not true for everyone. As an introvert, I love my friends, but I also really value time alone. For this reason, living with only one of my friends gives me company and someone to talk to at the end of the day, but keeps me from getting overwhelmed when I just want to get some alone time.
Unfortunately at BC, if you want a double because that fits your personality better, then you are banished to CORO to live with all the freshmen. Not only are you living with mainly freshman when living on upper campus as a sophomore, but you also at stuck eating at Mac. We all know that the food options on Lower are better with choices like Hillside and Addie’s.
Something that I find sad about the rooming process falls on the behavior of the students during this time. BC students like to claim that we are our authentic selves and that we are men and women serving others. We like to talk about our Jesuit values and how we truly care about our interactions with others. All of that considered, somehow when it comes to rooming all of our values go out the window.
The rooming process truly brings out the worst in many. People dump people from their groups for the hope of bringing in some other friends that are somehow “better.” When people don’t get their 8-man instead of splitting into two quads where everyone can be included, many people go to a six-man and ditch two people from their group. People balk at the notion you don’t have your 8-man put together yet, and they question if you have any friends.
In the end, the rooming process has shown me a side of BC that I don’t really care for. So if you are like me and don’t have your 8-man figured out, don’t be ashamed. People you are friends with first semester are called “first semester friends” for a reason. Would you really want to be living with people you were once friends with, but aren’t anymore? Awkward.
Basically, rooming is an awful process. That being said, in the end it will all work out. No matter what happens, as long as you are comfortable with where you are living, then everything is okay. Even so, some will inevitably still feel down after this terrible process, and I challenge you to lend a helping hand and reach out to those who may be struggling during this time.
Photo Sources
http://howtofilmschool.com/etiquette/