Freshman year of college can be intimidating. Maybe it is because of being in an unknown area, or because friends from back home have all split up. Or, maybe, it's the dorm-life horror stories that get passed around.
Auburn University offers four on-campus housing areas for students; the Hill, the Quad, the Village and South Donahue Residence Hall. The buildings are co-ed, but genders are separated by floor level.
Each hall has a Resident Assistant, or RA, who helps students that live on their floor.
"We are the providers of free food," said Carol Linde, junior majoring in political science and psychology and RA in the Quad's Dunn Hall. "We are the ones who are going to come downstairs in the middle of the night when you lock yourself out. We, generally speaking, have some discretion on when its quiet hours, and what is quiet."
Linde saw many different problems freshmen had as an RA for the 2013-2014 school year. Despite those problems, she said one of the best ways to get involved in the Auburn community is to get involved with the people living on your hall.
The majority of residents that live on campus are freshmen who choose to live with a random roommate, according to Linde.
Colby Stevens, sophomore in pre-business from New Hampshire, chose to live with a random roommate his freshman year.
"My roommate, Will Martin, and I were randomly put together, and honesty I lucked out," Stevens said. "I couldn't have had a better year. We may not see as much of each other recently, but I'm still close to him."
As well as making a new friend, Stevens said that living close to the dining halls and being able to sleep in longer before class were the best parts of living in an on-campus dorm.
Dorm life is a big transition for many students.
Linde said bathroom issues are usually the hardest adjustment.
Residents in the Hill and the Quad share a bathroom with their roommate and their two suite mates. In the Village and South Donahue Residence Hall, each bathroom is shared by two people.
"Most people have not shared a bathroom that is, like, the size of a closet, with three other girls in my case," Linde said. "I know for girls sharing a bathroom that tiny is a major issue. Even people who get along with their suitemates and stuff, bathrooms are just a very big problem for them."
Communication with roommates is the key to survival in the dorms.
"Communicate with your roommate; you're living with this person," Linde said. "It doesn't matter if you hate them, it does not matter. You have to find a way to live with them, and that's a good life experience if you have to figure out how to live with them."
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