Jenna NashOne of the first things that students going away to college think about is living in a dorm room with a roommate…or two. They wonder if they will get along or if they will become friends. The last thing that anyone wants is the “roommate-from-hell.” For lots of people, the ideal roommate situation would be like the characters on “Friends,” lasting and life-long friendships. But eventually, camaraderie must end. Like Joey from “Friends” said, “What are you getting so bent out of shape for? It’s not like we agreed to live together forever. We’re not Bert and Ernie!”
Friendships have truly been formed if people who became close during freshman year choose to live together senior year. Sarah Madden, a senior marketing major, is currently living in a 6-person apartment with girls she has known since she first came to Cabrini. “We all lived in Xavier freshman year, so we’re all original Xavier girls,” Madden said.
Living with so many girls can lead to problems and arguments. “We’re all so tight that we’ll express the problems to each other and just move on,” Madden said. The girls have known each other so long that they “know how to handle each other.”
Not every roommate situation is easy. Cathryn Amoroso, no relation to Dan Amoroso, was supposed to live with two of her friends from last year, but one didn’t return to Cabrini and the other is currently living off campus. A transfer student took their place a week into the current school year.
“She’s really messy, that’s not even the right word for it. We got written up because a pile of her clothes was blocking the door,” Amoroso, a sophomore accounting major, said. “We’re never in here at the same time. We don’t talk unless we have to.”
One night, Amoroso returned home from work after midnight to find her room packed with people who disrespected Amoroso even though it was her own room. It’s the only verbal fight the two roommates have gotten into.
“We’re just completely different people,” she said, echoing the thoughts of many college students across the country.
Living in the New Residence Hall is a duo of sophomore boys who have just welcomed a third roommate. The room is clean and being strung with white Christmas lights as Ian Lightcap, an English/communication major, finishes moving in.
“Our previous roommate had to leave,” Jim Diverio, a graphics design major, said. “He was a nice kid. But the way things were going, it wasn’t working out. Now it is.”
The atmosphere in the room is upbeat. It’s clear that the roommates get along. They have been friends since the beginning of the year. “We all go to each other’s houses,” Dan Amoroso, an English and communication major, said.
“We’re sarcastic towards each other, we joke around in an argumentative manner,” Lightcap said.
These roommates are the first to admit that they are different people with different views. When an argument arises, they have agreed to always speak up and say what is bothering them.
As for rules in the room, “shoes off the rug…and fall asleep to Frank Sinatra every night,” Lightcap said.
Posted to the web by Jenna Nash
