We've all heard of them: the classic horror stories about what it's like to have college roommates. From their horrible hygiene, messy behaviors, or just rude antics, things might get a bit awkward at times. But what really gets uncomfortable is accidentally interrupting him or her in the middle of an intimate moment with another person. Or, when being in the room still doesn't stop them. (Read on for more details.)
Undoubtedly, college students are going to experience "other college students." What becomes tricky, however, is living with a roommate and not knowing when he or she might happen to stroll in. Especially with certain holidays like Valentine's Day, sometimes a student just wants a room all to himself for a while.
Nonetheless, miscommunication might occur, the "sock" around the doorknob could fall off, or, while one might think he's locked the door, he really didn't. What do all of these things have in common? The eventual interruption of something a student probably wishes he hadn't seen.
Jeffrey Booth, a sophomore computer science major at UB was not a witness, but a victim of getting walked in on during sex.
"It was Halloween and my house was throwing a party. I was a cowboy and this girl I saw was dressed as a cop. Long story short, we were in my room and we both managed to keep our costumes on. I could've sworn I locked the door," Booth said. "Anyway, we were in a compromising situation and in barged one of my roommates looking for me. When he saw us, he screamed, ‘Oh! Happy Halloween!' and ran out. I felt really bad for the girl."
Other students were witnesses rather than victims.
"I walked in on one of my college roommates having sex, so I went and waited in the lounge for a while," said Susanne Santos, who graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. "After 20 minutes, I went back and the guy was gone, but let's just say my room smelled like sex. It was gross. After that semester, I only roomed with friends."
Sometimes, the intention to maintain a private atmosphere becomes lost in translation.
"I was so confused when I walked into my room. We had a whiteboard on the outside of our door and used it to let the other one know when we were getting it in and to come back later. We would write, ‘CBL' – come back later," said Anthony Sanders, a junior history major at the University at Albany. "It worked pretty well for us, until one day I walked in on my roommate handcuffed to the bedpost, receiving oral. It turns out another of our friends broke guy code and erased the board before I saw it. Let's just say, it's been a year and I still give him [expletive] for it."
Other times, couples don't have such concern for their roommates.
"I was in my bed, going to sleep. There was a knock on the door and my roommate let her ‘friend' in. They were hanging out in her bed talking. Just as I was about to fall asleep, her bed started to squeak, and I knew what was about to happen," said Alison Rodriguez, a sophomore sociology major. "I started moving around in my bed in hopes they'd realize I was still awake. When that didn't stop them, I just felt too awkward to say something. Soon enough, the heavy breathing and the grunts began. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I heard my roommate say, ‘Harder, harder!' It went on for like an hour until finally I heard the moan that signaled it was over. The next morning when I confronted my roommate about it, she told me she knew I wasn't asleep. Consider this [quotation in The Spectrum] payback."
Whatever method used – the sock, the whiteboard, or simply locking the door – make sure you "get it in" with a little privacy.
E-mail: features@ubspectrum.com
