By REBEKAH RAY

rlr017@latech.edu

 

Each year, midway through the winter quarter, residents of Tech housing who have been abandoned by their roommates are faced with a decision.

They may either find a new roommate, which often means a move, or in some dorms, students may pay higher fees in order to stay in their room as a “private room.”

Morgan Frith, a junior communication design major, was one of the female students who had to move from her room this year.

“I decided to move because I thought it was pointless to stay in a room where I was going to have to pay more, just to room by myself,” Frith said.

She also said she did not ask to live by herself.  The two roommates she began the school year with moved out at the end of last fall quarter.

“I started winter quarter out by myself,” Frith said. “I was supposed to have two roommates, but they ended up not moving in.”

Housing’s “winter squeeze” policy states if a student ends up in a double or triple occupancy room alone during the winter quarter, he or she must choose to either find a roommate for the latter half of the quarter or pay a higher fee to make the room a private room. 

However, having a private room is not an option in all dorms.

Noelle Smith is a freshman theatre major who lives in Dudley Residence Hall.

“[Housing] told me we couldn’t make the rooms in these dorms private rooms because these are supposed to be three-person rooms,” Smith said.

Smith’s options were to find a roommate willing to move into her room or to move out of her own room.

Smith found that Frith was willing to move, so the two of them are now roommates in the room Smith lived in by herself in Dudley.

Frith said they are satisfied with their current situation, but are still frustrated that they had to make this change mid-quarter.

Jeremy Johnson is a student worker in room assignments in housing and a senior sociology major.

He said housing has to go through the winter squeeze process because some students end up by themselves in double or triple occupancy rooms, for which they have not paid to live in by themselves.

“It’s not fair for them to have a room to themselves like that without paying the private rate,” Johnson said.

Another reason housing goes through the squeeze process every year, Johnson said, is to free up rooms for those students who want to pay for private rooms, or those who need a room to move into with a new roommate.

Meghan Zettlemoyer, a freshman business administration and accounting major, said she is a resident assistant in Dudley.

“There were two girls on my floor who had to move, because of winter squeeze,” Zettlemoyer said. “They were really frustrated about it.”

Zettlemoyer said she can sympathize with students who become accustomed to having a room to themselves because their roommate or roommates moved out.

She also said it is only fair that students must live in the type of room they are already paying to occupy.

“Housing likes to encourage students to have roommates, especially the incoming freshmen,” Zettlemoyer said.

“They say life with a roommate can help to prepare the student for future work environments and relationships that they may face once they graduate and get out in the ‘real world.’”