To the Editor:
I read with interest and amusement Lisa Goldstein’s op-ed “Overcoming anxiety about living with a roommate.” Her tale of the roommate pre-meeting jitters made me recall how I felt about meeting my roommate when I started WU fall 1995.
I first received the name of a girl from New York, who I’m sure would have made a fine roommate. As the lump in my throat and gut wrenching climaxed thinking about how I was going to pay for tuition, room and board, books, pizza and beer as the start of school approached, I put a last minute call in to switch to a triple to shave off a few hundred dollars.
The late change in plans meant I didn’t get to meet or speak to my two new roommates until the first day of school. Charlene and Pia were sweet girls, but the true fun began when they decided after one week to cease speaking to each other (something about a misplaced pair of glasses), which lasted the entire year.
I am not kidding. I ended up being the go between and peacemaker. Needles to say, I didn’t spend much of my time in my dorm room my freshman year.
So, as the new school year approaches, I urge all roommate pairs and threesomes to put in the calls to get to know each other-it’ll save a lot of heartache in the long run. And if Charlene and Pia are out there somewhere reading this: Pia, Charlene never intentionally hid your glasses, and Charlene, I still have your iron.