It’s a new school year, and it’s your first time at Tyler Junior College. Every student has to adjust to new classes, new places and new people.
Most students attending college for the first time typically choose the option to not live on their school campus. The other half that does decide to move into the dorms will have to adjust to living with a roommate.
Students often find this intimidating because they will have to try to “make friends” with a complete stranger that could either be a lifelong friend or a “weirdo” from who knows where.
Sophomore TJC student from Dallas, Xavier Brackens, who lives in Ornelas Hall, said “at first I thought that I wasn’t going to like my roommate, but the two of us became best friends and now we cant get rid of each other.”
His roommate Graham Walker, sophomore, said “I never really have problems with meeting new people or making new friends, so I wasn’t surprised that me and Xavier became close friends.”
Several other students staying on campus also said that they typically get along with their roommates. But then some students like Jamica Bennet, sophomore living in Ornelas Hall, said she had a bad experience the first time she had a roommate.
“I don’t even speak to my roommate, we just don’t have anything to say to each other,” Jamica said.
Most students feel the same thing their first year or so, which brings up another question: how are roommates selected to stay with each other?
Samantha Faggot, the housing office area coordinator for TJC, said that “its really lottery style, we do not discriminate against race or religion. Its really a matter of who has their financial aid completed and is ready to pay for their room.”
According to the Residential Life Handbook, located on the TJC website, it says, “most problems that arise in the residence halls can be solved in-hall. Residents who are still dissatisfied after speaking with the resident director may then make an appointment with the appropriate housing official in the Residential Life and Housing Office.”
This also bring up another question, how the RA’s, residential assistants, deal with bickering roommates.
Nicolas Long, sophomore and TJC student from Forth Worth who serves as an RA on the third floor of the Ornelas hall said that “its better to suggest that the roommates try to talk it out and try to reach an agreement, if not then we can assist them in trying to find new roommates.”
