Millersville University - Touchstone Yearbook (Millersville, PA)

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Dorm rooms were frequently the forum for juicy gossip. Brenda Klugh. Sandy Fasnacht and Pam Bradley are busy catching up on the latest. • Photo by Merin Studio Learning to Share When Someone Invades Your Space College is a time in life when one has to make adjustments, and adapt to situations which were not present at home. Often, these adjustments bring forth many difficulties which can easily frustrate the incoming student. One such adjustment is learning to share a small amount of space with another person. The problem of the roommate is a familiar one which is shared by many students, both freshmen and seniors alike, and easily becomes a nightmare. Many times the problems can be worked out — adjusting to a total stranger takes time. But occasionally the differences between the roommates lead to problems which are unsolved. The trouble can start as early as moving-in day. Roommates know they’re not going to get along when one brings in his Van Halen albums and the other, his collection of Beethoven, or when one roomie brings matching pink and green bedspreads for both beds which they must use. and the other brings purple and orange bedspreads and feels the same way. Also, the problem of whose T.V.. stereo, rug or refrigerator stays, and whose goes, as well as where their remaining things will go. can begin to add tension to the roommates relationship. Adding fuel to the fire is the dilemma of house keeping. This problem can become quite apparent when one roommate begins to build a fortress with his dirty clothes, while the other keeps a pair of white gloves on his desk to use when cleaning day rolls around. Some roommates live by the rule of “everything in its place. and are constantly putting away things and picking up. and the other cannot find things unless they are in disorganized heaps about the room. One can easily spot roommates who have this housekeeping problem — you can draw a dividing line between each person's part of the room. Along with the problem of cleanliness of the room comes the carelessness syndrome. Leaving a light on. not turning a record player off. finding the refrigerator door wide open. and everything is spoiled — all these are things which can 22 Roommate Quirks

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Some people went to great extents to avoid doing work. James Smith demonstrates his favorite method of procrastination. • Photo by Ed Diesck tioned that after approximately two weeks of school they realize that nothing has changed and that they still procrastinate. Perhaps procrastination is a genetic trait, biologically linked between parents and their children, or maybe it's a disease, waiting for a cure to be discovered. Nevertheless. whether procrastination be a genetic trait or a disease. Its carriers usually feel guilty, angry or frustrated after they procrastinate. Tracey Driscoll finds herself panicking when she has waited to do something until the last minute. Tracey gets mad at herself for procrastinating, but this still doesn’t keep her from doing it again. Tracey once waited to do her speech until the night before it was due because she couldn't think of a good topic. Tracey spent much of her evening reciting her quickly written speech to innocent bystanders in the bathroom. Dave Williams, on the other hand, doesn't worry about his habit of procrastinating. When asked how he feels after he procrastinates, he answered. 'Til worry about it next week!” Dave has an interesting philosophy on procrastination. He claims that the reason he procrastinates is because he thinks everything should be put off as long as possible. This should be done, he says, because if you do everything when it should be done, life will go by too fast! Other students simply claim to be bored, lazy or have better things to do besides homework. Homework isn’t the only thing people find themselves procrastinating. Some students claim to clean their room only when they can no longer lift up the lid of their record player because of the excess weight from the inches of dust balls accumulated on top of it. Some people will put off doing their laundry until they've worn each pair of underwear three times each, and their socks have hardened from the wretched sweat. Crafts arc popular procrastinating subjects also. What can be done to help these perpetual procrastinators? Should we perhaps try to squeeze in an extra four days per week? This would surely satisfy both procrastinators and non-procrastinators. More realistically, a person could try to budget his time more wisely, and reward himself after he has completed his work, rather than before he has completed the work not yet done. Waiting until the last minute to cut out games was a common occurrence for elementary education majors. Sitting in a deserted classroom at Stayer. Sharon Lyter hurriedly tries to finish her project for Kindergarten Seminar. • Photo by Merin Studio Becky Moyer Procrastination 21

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 Dorm rooms were sometimes too confined for these people who need their space. Here, two friends move to a stairwell and play their guitars. • Photo by Merin Studio Cafeteria food wasn't always filling. Krista Miller prepares a real meal. -Photo by Johnna Pinney begin to work on each other’s nerves. Share and share alike is a phrase which is familiar to many, and yet some roommates practice it too much. When clothes begin to disappear from one roommate’s closets and drawers and magically reappear in the other roommates wash basket, or the chocolate cake your mother baked you Is all gone, and you didn't eat any of it. it can be mildly irritating. However, when you discover that your roommate has been using your toothbrush to clean dust off his records, or uses your best set of sheets to make a banner for her sorority, tempers will tend to flare. Often, roommates do not get along simply because they have nothing in common. They each have different majors, activity interests. and friends, and their worlds do not interact, so they are uncomfortable with each other. They spend more and more time outside of the room, and some roommates become like strangers to each other. Many times the problems roommates encounter can be solved, and the two adjust, and become close friends. However, others are not so lucky. They end up searching for other roommates with whom they are more compatable. and with who they will have a positive experience. Steve Keefer Roommate Quirks 23