Story by Sylvia Carrizales ¥ Photos by Sarah Kirschberg This is the first article in a three-part series profiling the changing relationship of a pair of roommates. So far, “possessed” computers and deciding what outfits to wear to Recruitment have been the most urgent problems faced by freshmen roommates Kerri Mold and Heather O’Neal. But then again, classes have not started and the two have only shared their small room in Colby Hall for a week. The fear of going potluck Before Mold and O’Neal met at June Orientation, they were going to put the fate of their entire first semester into the hands of the powers-that-be in Residential Services. “I was going to go potluck and I was quite worried,” O’Neal said. Nancy Grieser, housing coordinator, has paired roommates at TCU for the past five years, and she describes it as a “balancing act” between students’ responses on an online-housing survey and the hall selection. The students who return the Residence Hall and Dining Service Contract and the $100 deposit the earliest get first priority. “When I begin assigning rooms, I sort by priority date,” Grieser said. “There are more women to house, so I begin with the women. Using (hall selection, specific floor or room and roommate requests), I assign her to a room.” When a roommate is not requested, Grieser relies on the five online housing survey questions to match students. Students answer questions such as, “Do you smoke or drink?”, “Do you prefer your room neat or casual?”, and “Are you a night or a morning person?” Along with a question on a student’s primary-interest areas and a comments section, these five questions give Grieser a general guide to gauge two students’ compatibility. Mold, a special education major and O’Neal, a biology major, agree that the questions on the online housing survey were limited and not adequate to pair roommates. “None of the questions seemed to fit me,” said Mold, who is from Edmond, Okla. “Like when they asked if you were a night owl or an early bird, I’m not either, really. I didn’t think you could put people into those categories.” The students think questions about a roommate’s budget, if they are shy or outgoing and how they prefer to decorate the room would help to avoid future dilemmas. “I wanted to know about the budget,” O’Neal said. “It was a big thing. I was afraid I was going to get a room with someone who could just go shopping every day, and her parents gave her all the money.” Without planning it, both roommates have the exact same budget, which allows them to hang out together and splurge on their favorite weakness — junk food, especially McDonald’s. “I think we’ll be fine on our budget,” O’Neal said. Grieser said that several questions were eliminated when the housing survey went online, such as questions about how studious a person is and their choice of music, but she said a person’s attitude will be the primary determinant of whether or not a roommate match is successful. Luckily for Mold and O’Neal, they share more favorites, so the twangs and drawls of country music will be blaring in their firstfloor room, and they will swoon over Freddie Prinze Jr. in romantic comedies like “She’s All That.” To Study or Not to Study As for studying, they have different ideas of the concept. Mold, an “A” student in high school, will have a 16-hour
course load and participate in the Honors program. O’Neal was also an “A” student but practiced another form of studying — cramming. “In high school, I studied maybe once,” O’Neal said. “I was big on cramming. Get in the classroom five minutes early, memorize as much as you can, put it on paper and it’s gone for the rest of your life.” Mold and O’Neal are both on scholarships that require them to maintain a 3.25 GPA. They also plan to take three of the same courses — First Semester College Spanish, Introductory Composition and Understanding Religion: The Bible. As for extracurricular activities, the two were active in their high schools but are not sure which organizations they will join outside of sororities. Both girls only know a few people on campus and spend the majority of their time together. They reminisce about high school memories and boys, of course. “We have the same taste in guys,” O’Neal said. RA to the Rescue So far, their common interests, plus the fact that they are both messy, have allowed the two to get along. They have not encountered any noisy neighbors yet, but when problems start to creep up, the girls see their resident assistant as a resource. “I expect her to be kind of like a mentor if I have a major problem or just need someone to talk to that’s out of the situation,” O’Neal said. “We’ve already had several conversations.” Jennifer Langford, a junior French and advertising/public relations major and a resident assistant, said the RAs take a two-week training course before the semester and focus on roommate conflicts. “We’re there to mediate,” Langford said. “We’re
not trained to become partial members in a conflict.” “It could be that during the school year, they had lots of little situations, and it wasn’t a very happy room.” While O’Neal is used to sharing cramped quarters with her sister, Mold is more accustomed to living in larger quarters. O’Neal is a light sleeper; Mold is a heavy sleeper. But both residents said they will adjust to each other and their new home. O’Neal said she would talk about problems with her roommate
or other residents before they got out of hand. “I’m not very assertive about things like that,” Mold said. Looking Ahead Communication, Grieser said, is the key to a peaceful environment. “It is a major factor which goes back to the idea of establishing expectations,” Grieser said. “Early in the semester is the best time to do it.” Mold and O’Neal are hopeful about the semester that looms ahead, but as their freshly washed T-shirts for Recruitment hang side-by-side, dripping from their closets, they ponder the future. “I’ll see how it goes,” O’Neal said. “If Kerri and I get along real well, maybe we’ll stay together. It’s hard to say right now.” “I think we’ll be really good friends,” Mold said. Sylvia Carrizales
By Hemi Ahluwalia Once again, students are back to the grind, buying their books and parking passes and attempting to begin a work-out program that can actually be done. The Rickel Building is equipped to take on any student who wants to get in shape while having fun at the same time, said Damien Abel, assistant director of Recreational Sports. Steve Kintigh, director of Recreational Sports, said the Wellness Center is the most anticipated program that has been added to the schedule this semester. Although it will not be fully operational until mid-semester, Kintigh said the Wellness Center does have some programs that are already available to the TCU community. “There will be three private rooms with a library of information and computers that will have the capability to do self-assessments for people,” Kintigh said. “Also, a licensed massage therapist is available whose services can be charged on a send home account.” Improvements were also made to the Cardio Theater to accommodate the growing number of students who use the Rickel, Abel said. The newest additions will be the treadmills, bikes, step machines and elliptical trainers, he said. The theater also offers eight television sets that will be connected to all the machine. There will be 12 sports clubs this semester, some of which include badminton, jujitsu, roller hockey, tae kwon do and water polo, said Mary Ellen Milam, associate director of Recreational Sports. Another part of the Rickel services is the TCU Challenge Course,
a team-building activity, Kintigh said. The Frog Fit Aerobic program will still offer the same programs at the same times as last semester, Milam said.Among the programs are step aerobics and kickboxing. Registration for the Frog Fit programs can be done at anytime, with classes starting on Sept. 5, Milam said. “The first two days (of) aerobic classes will be offered free to help students decide if they would like to join the class,” Milam said. For more information on the classes or services, call 257-PLAY, or attend the Activities Carnival from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Frog Fountain. Hemi Ahluwalia
Once again, it’s that time when the temperature soars into the hundreds and Recruitment participants parade single file around campus. The return of August has brought students back to TCU for another year. While unpacking my car, I had the usual excitement of moving into my dorm room and the hell of trying to find a parking space. I also noticed over 1,000 new things at TCU, mainly the more than 1,000 new faces of the freshmen. I felt it was my duty to stop and help lost freshmen and their families find whatever building they were looking for. It wasn’t until someone mistook me for a freshman that I began to think about the past year and what I had learned. I didn’t have the toughest freshman year, but I certainly didn’t have the easiest. Like other freshmen, I dealt with homesickness, meeting new people, having a roommat and having odd neighbors. After my family drove off, I looked at the closet they call a dorm room and thought “so this is it.” I finally had the freedom I wanted after. However, I also had the responsibilities and fears that came with those freedoms. Either way, I was ready for my new life. My first week was spent at Howdy Week activities and introducing myself to anyone I came in contact with. It was these new friends that made adjusting to being away from home easier. The first problem I encountered was living with a roommate. I was terrified we would have completely opposite personalities and our room would end up looking like a tornado-disaster area. Of course, my imagination got the best of me. We set a few rules which never had to be enforced; we even went out and had a little fun. My roommate and I became friends and had a great freshman year. Though my roommate and I didn’t have a soap-opera relationship, the same can’t be said about the people in my dorm. Whether it was roommates getting in a fight down the hall or my roommate and I throwing shoes at the wall because our neighbor had her music too loud, Sherley Hall had it’s share of late-night excitement. All in all, dorm life wasn’t that bad. Slowly the fears I had of being in a new place died away. I was more open to change and to the experiences that awaited me. Even The Main, where I had been to afraid to eat, had gained some appeal. Homesickness, did finally set in as my best friend and I had our first fight. I was ready to quit and go home, but from somewhere inside came that little voice that said if I held out a little bit longer, everything would be fine. After all, I came to college to further my education and to make something of myself. I stayed, and I learned. I also found the patience to talk with my best friend and keep our friendship strong despite the mileage between us. Like other college students, money soon became an issue. I didn’t have the constant cash flow from daddy so I opted for a job that provided me a small amount of money every two weeks. Between paychecks I had my new friend, the credit card, that helped me out. I was scared about being in debt for the rest of my life because of my credit card usage. Later, I realized that if I just didn’t go crazy I could handle the payments and my new friend would be there for emergencies. Now, my freshman year has come and gone. My sophomore year has brought me back to TCU and back to the Skiff. I’m hoping this year will be easier than my first and that I may be able to help some lost freshmen cope with their first year. In a few short years, I will leave TCU and will once again go through the adjustments I went through my first year. Though the phrase is cliché, college is a learning experience. You don’t become an expert over night, and you don’t know everything the moment you become a sophomore. Maybe, in a way, it means I’m still a freshman. Maybe we all are. Copy Desk Chief Jacque Petersell is a sophomore
news-editorial journalism major from Houston. |
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