Dormology Chapter 2: How to be a Roommate
[Series Table of Contents: The Fool's Guide to Dormology]
Chapter 2: How to be a Roommate
By: David, Intern to the Stars
Headphones: Good for everybody. (cc) Flickr user AndYaDontStop
I have found that it is in your best interest to be a good roommate. Often by being a good roommate, you will encourage your roomie to do the same, thereby creating an atmosphere of mutual goodness crucial to enjoying dorm life. During my freshman year, this is the kind of relationship I had with my roommate. We never really spoke, aside from the occasional “where are the paper towels?” but the mutual respect made dorm life quite pleasant.
Of course, there are other times when one might prefer to be a bad roommate. For instance, being a bad roommate can be the perfect passive-aggressive approach to convincing your roommate to move out.
Good roommates shower (cc) Flickr user dotbenjamin
I have three friends–let’s call them the powderpuff girls–who used this approach quite successfully. The powderpuffs were living in a suite-style dorm, which means two rooms are connected by one bathroom. Thus, one dorm room has four occupants, rather than just two.
These three girls requested to live together but were placed with another girl they didn’t know. They wanted to get rid of that girl. So they each played the “bad roommate” card (see the second list below). The fourth wheel simply couldn’t take living with three bad roommates and moved out. I’m not saying it was right, but it was a great victory for the powderpuffs.
Because different situations call for different responses, I have created two lists. The first will help you to be a good roommate. The second will provide tips on being a bad roommate. Use the one that suits you best.
How to Be a Good Roommate:
- Shower. Body odor is generally quite undesirable in a roommate.
- Do your laundry. The reasoning behind this is similar to the reasoning in #1.
- Buy some headphones. When sharing a room, headphones not only provide an escape from the noise of your roommate, but they also prevent you from being the obnoxious noise maker.
- Learn the appropriate time and place for long and intense telephone conversations. Hint: your dorm room is not the place and the middle of the night is not the time.
- Smile. But not too much. That would be weird.
- Wash your dishes rather than leaving them in the sink or elsewhere to attract bugs and create foul stenches.
- Take out the trash on occasion.
- Plan to go out of town every now and then.
- Try not to wake up Roomsie when you come in late.
- Don’t tell your roommate when you begin to notice their “freshman 15” happening.
How to Be a Bad Roommate:
Significant others make bad roommates. (cc) Flickr user Elmo Alves
- Get a boyfriend or girlfriend.
- Spend the majority of your time in the dorm talking sappy with your significant other. This can take place either over the telephone or in person.
- Borrow your roommate’s stuff, specifically food items and hygiene products.
- Party hard. Every night.
- Invite someone to move in with you for a while.
- Secretly tell your RA whenever your roommate breaks a dorm rule.
- If your clothes are dirty, feel free to wear your roommate’s.
- Follow your roomie when he/she leaves the room.
- If you break something that belongs to your roommate, quickly hide or dispose of it.
- During times of boredom, read your roommate’s mail or journal.
Scenes from Buyback Fall 2009
And now, a few of our favorite scenes from this year’s many Buybacks.
The Freed Hardeman Fool Crew @ Besso's
Buying for Ouachita Baptist and Henderson State at Dino's Main Street Cafe
Buying at the excellent Underground Coffeehouse in Searcy, AR. FUN FACT: Two of the full-time Fools attended Harding Univ. in Searcy.
Buying at Something Brewing in Conway, Arkansas
Getting Foolish with the water bottles at Hendrix.
Books at Dino's Main Street Cafe
Foolin' it up at NACC, Rainsville, AL
Making it rain in Searcy!!
Buying at Freed Hardeman. FUN FACT: One of our Fool's parents went to FHU.
And finally, a short video from our visit to Calhoun Community College in Tanner, AL:
Dormology Chapter 1: History of the Dorm
[Series Table of Contents: The Fool's Guide to Dormology]
Chapter 1: The History of the Dorm
By: David, Intern to the Stars
Let us begin with the most fundamental question: What is a dorm?
According to Dictionary.com, “dorm” is an informal version of the term “dormitory.” Gee, thanks! Let’s move to a more legitimate source of internet knowledge, UrbanDictionary.com, which defines “dorm” as:
A bedroom, living room, and kitchen in a space about the size of most walk-in closets. Roommate included free of charge.
Though UrbanDictionary slightly overstates the dorm’s amenities (in particular the use of the word “kitchen”), I find this definition to be satisfactory. The standard dorm room will generally come equipped with a leaky sink, cracked mirror, two beds, two desks, two chairs, and maybe a closet or two. If you get lucky (or maybe unlucky, as we will discuss in a later chapter), there might be a bathroom attached to your dorm room. Dorm rooms are probably most comparable to prison cells but dirtier and with doors instead of bars.
Just when did dorm become a four-letter word?
(cc) Flickr user Randy OHC
The tradition began centuries ago with monks, who referred to their dorm rooms as “cells,” hence the similarity between dorm rooms and prison. (Both would develop out of the monastic tradition). As in modern universities, monastic dormitories consisted of a single building containing many cells. Amenities such as the kitchen and lavatory were shared by the monks. Due to their focus on solitude, monks usually did not receive a free roommate with admission to their dorm. (Bummer!)
Higher-level education developed out of their monasticism and brought with it the tradition of “dorm cells.” Over time, schools would begin packing as many kids into each cell as could possibly fit. And that is where we’re at now. A bunch of college kids pretending to be monks.
Some schools today, such as the University of Oregon, do not have “dorms,” but instead have “residence halls.” A residence hall is a more uppity version of a dormitory, which provides not only a place to live, but also a place to grow. Oregon’s website describes the difference as follows:
Monk's have the best dorms. (cc) Flickr user Ivan Marcialis
The terms “residence hall” and “dorm” are often used interchangeably; however, there is a difference between the two. An important objective of residence halls at the University of Oregon is to provide not just a place to sleep, but also opportunities for personal and educational growth. Highly trained Residence Life staff and Hall Government officers support this objective by creating engaging activities and programs in each hall or complex. At the University of Oregon, we are proud to say you’ll be living in a residence hall.
Though the opportunities for personal and educational growth offered through Oregon’s “residence halls” are clearly more desirable than the mere living space offered in the “dorms” of most schools, the analysis of “residence halls” will not be discussed in this course. For more on residence halls consider taking Residence Hallology 101. It’s sure to be a thrill.
That’s all the time we have for today, but stay tuned for Chapter 2: How to Be a Roommate.
And unless you live in a “residence hall” in Oregon, remember to thank the early monks the next time you walk into your dorm. For more on the history of the dorm, check out Time Magazine’s Evolution of the College Dorm Photo Essay.
Fancy residence halls at the Univ. of Oregon
Get Well Soon, Zach
We’re thinking about you, man. It won’t be the same around the warehouse until you’re back in action.
Welcome, Belmont Vision Readers
This week’s Belmont Vision features yours truly spouting off about textbooks. It’s a great article that lays out the problems with the industry and what we’re doing to address them.
When Erin contacted us to discuss our side of the story, I put some thoughts on paper about how we do what we do. It’s a little long, but it may be a view into BookFool that you haven’t seen before. First, her questions. Then, my PR-ey responses.
1) How does BookFool work?
BookFool’s model is unique in that we cut out the wholesalers and middlemen altogether. We set up shop inside local small businesses and buy our books directly from students, selling them on the national used market at the beginning of the next semester. This means that we don’t care if the book is being used at your campus again. If it’s still used anywhere in the world, we can probably buy it from you.
At Vanderbilt last year, we had a student bring us 100 old, out-of-date textbooks to price. The bookstore would not buy them and the local wholesaler had offered him $76 and three free burritos. His jaw hit the floor when we told him we could offer him over $400 for all of them. Alas, we couldn’t give him any free burritos, but I don’t think he minded!
2) How do you determine the asking price? Generally, what are your mark ups?
Because we do not have to satisfy a gauntlet of middlemen, we can pay very close to a book’s current value on the national market. Many students find that once they factor in the cost and hassle of selling online (including 15% marketplace commissions and multiple trips to the Post Office), they can actually get a better deal from BookFool than if they sold it online themselves. And they get it in Cash!
When it’s time to buy your books, our site, BookFool.com, will show you the cheapest used copies at all the major used marketplaces. If we can’t give you the best deal on a used book, we want to empower you find the best price yourself.
3. What sets you apart from a traditional campus bookstore? Why might you be the better option?
Your campus bookstore is only concerned with buying books for your campus. If they don’t need a book next semester, they will either refuse to buy it or will offer you an insultingly low “wholesale price” and pass the book along to a wholesaler.
At BookFool, we buy for ourselves and sell on the national used market, not to some middleman who takes a cut. We partner with local small businesses to host our buybacks, which means these local shops get increased foot traffic, students get a better deal on their books, and the local economy gets a much-needed cash infusion. It’s a win-win-win!
4. In your mission statement you talk about how being recent students affects the way you do business. Can you elaborate on that?
As students ourselves, we felt how powerless we were in the face of the mega-conglomerates who run campus bookstores. Because many campus bookstores had no competition until the online used market matured, their buyback attitude was often “take it or leave it…NEXT IN LINE!” BookFool is using technology to put power back in the hands of the students.
For students, just having BookFool as an option causes your campus bookstore to reevaluate their prices. We also never pressure students to sell if they’re not comfortable with a price. Students are always free to compare prices online, at the bookstore, and elsewhere, and we welcome them back if they decide we can offer them the best deal.
5. How have you marketed to students?
Word of mouth is our best friend. We use Social Media and traditional advertising methods to alert students to our coming and then let them take it from there. Once the word is out, it’s all about giving students a great deal.
6. In general, what effect do you see the price of textbooks having on students and the textbook industry?
Textbooks are expensive, no doubt about it. Many publishers look to digital textbooks as their savior, but we have yet to see a digital solution that actually costs less and put students’ needs first.
Having options is at the heart of our Capitalist economy. As long as students need books, BookFool will work to empower students with options. This means engaging with professors, student government associations, and students themselves to find solutions that respect everyone’s needs.
7. When will you be back by Cosmic Connections again this December?
Cosmic Connections is an amazing place to hold a buyback. Katherine and her staff have welcomed us there for years, and we plan to maintain this partnership for many years to come. This semester’s buyback at Cosmic Connections happens on Dec. 9-12 and 14-17, from 8am to 6pm. After buyback season, we’re always buying online at http://bookfool.com/sell
Thank you for including us in the discussion, Erin.
