Roommates – Can’t Live With Them, Can’t Live Without Them

By Lizzie Kipp
Campus Editor
Email: thehutchinsoncollegian@gmail.com

The concept of roommates isn’t a bad one – it’s like having a built-in friend who pays half the bills.

However, college roommates can be a different story. Being away from home, paired with a total stranger in a tiny dorm room, is not for everyone. The lucky students find lifelong friends in their roommates, but others do not fare as well.

An anonymous student at Hutchinson Community College shared their experience with one of their own roommates, who will also remain unnamed.

Their grievances began at the start of the semester. The roommate is an athlete, so they moved into the dorms about a week before everyone else on campus.

“By the time I got there it was a mess,” the student said. “A mountain of clothes, stuff everywhere. It was just ridiculous, and this was only one week in.”

The source described their room as a “hoarder mess.” It’s no secret that the dorms at HutchCC aren’t perfect, but with two roommates and piles of trash it’s an even worse living space.

In addition to the mess, the clothes had a rather unpleasant smell about them. According to the student, their roommate also seems to have an aversion to laundry. Instead of the traditional washer and dryer route, their go-to laundry technique is spraying fabric deodorizer everywhere.

“Mind you, these are clothes they use at weights or for practice,” the student said. “I would do anything not to be in the room so I wouldn’t smell the B.O.”

The icing on the cake – the heat has recently been turned on in the dorms, which certainly doesn’t help the smell.

“The funny thing is we would have a lot of conversations about people smelling, and they would say ‘I hate when people smell like B.O.,’” the student said.

In many cases, one can tolerate their roommate’s unpleasant hygiene habits because there is a strong bond to go along with it. This does not apply here, as this pair is far from close friends, according to the anonymous source.

“We never did any extra activities together or spend time together,” they said. “We had one class with them yet we never talked and I would just catch her staring.”

Additionally, contribution is a big factor to why this roommate is less than ideal. The student said they are the only one of three roommates in their dorm that contributes to groceries. As a college student, this can be a daunting task.

The lesson here is to be a decent human being. Contribute to groceries once in a while. Do laundry and take showers regularly – if not for yourself, then for the people living with you. College is overwhelming on its own without the added chores to do around the dorm, but self-care is more important than ever in situations like this.

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