Living in the residence halls is quite an experience, especially when it comes to living with a stranger for the first time.

“My roommate and I got along great,” sophomore business major Brittney Ray said. “I was kind of nervous at first about living with someone I didn’t know, but we had so much fun.”

But the exciting experience of living on campus can become tainted if a roommate situation is less than tolerable.

“I had three roommates,” said Lindsay McCoy, sophomore broadcast journalism major. “My first roommate was two years older than me and acted like she was too good for me. Then I moved to Centennial F, and my second roommate moved out the week after I moved in. Then, my third roommate moved in with me because she had problems with her roommate as well. But she was messy, and her boyfriend practically moved in wth us. It was horrible.”

If you did not have the luck of choosing your roommate, or if you chose him or her and realized that you made a huge mistake, you are not stuck for the whole year. Room changes are available if necessary.

The first opportunity to change your room began during the summer. You could have gone online to [email protected] to change rooms.

But if you waited, first you have to go through a two to three week room freeze period. During this period you should try to solve whatever problems you have with your roommate, and be absolutely positive that you want to leave.

There is another reason for the room freeze.

“The two-week room freeze is used so we can figure out who is here and who is not,” said T.J. Logan, assistant director of Residence Services. “We also try to find what space is available.”

After the freeze is over, and you still want to leave, you must go to your residence hall director and request another room.

By that time the RHDs are able to go online to find the available space, and fill out the request on behalf of the students. You can either stay in the same building or change residence halls entirely.

The process is quick. Students are usually able to pick up their new keys that day.

Contact general assignment reporter Deanna Stevens at [email protected].