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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 1983)
o provides de ar your dorm jeer cans and fied dormitory i wind up with display plus a of your con- ves recommen- 'ou inflict dam- oom. Gleam ks better and han spackling oles put in the of contact pap- he offenaing the door into ood grain you t lie, cheat or hose who do. lever heard of of Honor, but ssarily recom- "When the onsider cheat- iow it right 'The biggest tal lack of pre- \ impending be the first... bright idea to If you do get rcussions will in the D or F ; received on >y-" 1 5 2. , „ C t vz< VM 8 19^ ;5 2.6^ ioto by Dean Saito if time Roommate problems? Don't fight, talk it out by Ann Ramsbottom Bi till ion reporter It's too bad you can't be your own roommate. After all, who is easier to get along with than yourself? It's the differences among •people that make everyone uni que... and often impossible, to live with. Different...lifestyles, values, morals and time sche dules. Boyfriends, girlfriends, pets, no pets, stereos, radios, tv and tv dinners, eating in, eating out and bringing the gang over to eat. "In order for a relationship to work, whether roommate or marriage, you must either be so alike that you have all the same interests or be so different that Vou keep each other enter- itained," says Nancy Ludwig, Jadviser for Off Campus Center. Though living with a room mate isn't necessarily a negative experience, throughout the course of a year, your roommate and you will undoubtedly en counter some differences. Differences stem from va rious conflicts, ranging from con flict of interest to conflict of up bringing. Quirks and habits thought to be insignificant, often turn out to be very signifi cant. "For instance," Ludwig said, "One roommate may be very clean and neat, while the other is sloppy and indifferent to a mes sy apartment. It's harder for a clean person to accept "dirty" then for a dirty person to be come clean...it's really hard to compromise." When students come to col lege, they have an opportunity to experiment with new free doms. A lot of times that means learning from trial and error. "A roommate that promises she wouldn't think of having overnight guests may meet 'Mr. Wonderful' during her first semester at college. Suddenly, her attitude changes, but her roommate's attitude may not." Many roommate problems arise from lack of communica tion. "Problems crop up when girls don't tell their roommates when they're unhappy," said Ronda Duckers, head resident for McFadden hall. "They tell every one but their roommate. At the end of the semester they sudden ly show a disinterest to room with the same person again. Often problems can be solved before they ever get started if careful planning is involved. Ludwig suggests meeting a roommate several times before making a decision. The Off Cam pus Center offers a roommate matching service based on cards filled out by prospective stu dents. Ludwig encourages that a student consider several room mate possiblities and leave with at least 12 to 15 potential people to contact. A common mistake in roommate selection is lack of thoroughness in making a selec tion. People sometimes think they know someone well, and find out differently when they actual ly live under the same roof. This is a common occurance among "best friends" trying to live together, Ludwig says. Often, expectations are not fulfilled. Another problem involves freshman who live off campus their first year at college. "I really don't know why freshmen are not required to live on campus here at A&M," Lud wig said, "but it's a serious ques tion to be answered. Unlike most universities, 50 percent of the A&M freshman live off campus. "I feel like they need some on campus experience," Ludwig says. "Off campus, they have no opportunity for support. For that person to enteract with See ROOMMATE,page 13 How do you spell s—t—u by Ann Ramsbottom Battalion reporter College life is...socializing on weeknights, setting your own schedule, experiencing new free doms and...four years of sub stantial suffering in pursuit of a rather distant goal. In short, college life is a nev er-ending struggle to combine the conflict of study and a mere existence. "College life can control you, or you can control your life while in college," says Jane Warren, counselor for the student acade mic counseling service. "A big part of your college education is learning to handle the demands that you make on yourself." Unfortunately, the consequ ence often is a sacrifice in class performance as a result of poor study habits. "Common study problems in clude: not paying attention in class, time wasted between clas ses, being easily distracted and studying with a negative atti tude," Warren says. "Class time should be used for review and for actual learn ing," she added. "Time be tween classes should be util ized, whether you're standing in a line for a few minutes or having a long wait at the health center. A good 30-minute study break can be much more effec tive than a four hour study block." The amount of time spent on studies doesn't necessarily have any correlation with the success of a student's work. "Success in school is often the result of several outside fac tors," Warren says. "Exercise, sufficient sleep, effective study and a certain amount of social time are very important. Stu dents typically foul up any routine they might have had." Warren explained that good grades also may be attributed to one or more of four Qualities more of four qualities associated with classroom success: •ability(aptitude) •attitude (motivation) •background knowledge •study skills. A student may have little or no motivation to excel in his work because he lacks any sense of direction or meaning, Warren says. The student may not know what he wants to do with the rest of his life. A student may be in an hon ors French class because of suc cess in high school French, but flunks out in college French be cause of poor background know ledge, Warren added. The high school program may not have been up to par with other such high school programs. As far as study skills go, stu dents may not be able to manage their time effectively: getting lit tle sleep, little exercise and studying at sporadic hours. Study problems may be the result of a deeper underlying problem. "Some student's studies are affected by personal problems," Warren says. "Being homesick, being ill, dating problems, not being able to make friends and the tear of what parents might think if they don't do well." Not all stress is directly recog nized. Loss of weight, being irrit able, tired and not sleeping are common symptoms. Illness, not being able to sleep or concen trate, depression and tension are also typical. However, each person's specific symptoms are unique. "Usually a critical event, a cri sis such as flunking a test, finally breaks the camel's back," War ren says. "It's usually after slip ping from a 4.0 to barely making it that the student comes for counseling." Most anxiety comes from doing poorly in one's own major. "A cycle often occurs as a re sult of not performing well on other tests," Warren says. "Test d—y? anxiety before the test often car ries over into actually taking the test. The student simply cannot concentrate. "Fear of tests also is com mon," Warren added. "Every one is somewhat afraid, especial ly if they don't feel strong in class. Test success is very depen dent upon the student's attitude and feeling for a subject." When a student comes in for academic counseling, it is impor tant to first assess the student's time management. The student is given a chance to evaluate him self as well as demands put on one's self. Then, there are tests for aptitude and interest. Through study skills groups the student can discuss problems and often feels relieved to talk about them. Another alternative is to discuss problems one-on- one with a counselor. "The time to come for counsel ing is when you are feeling stres sed or are feeling conflict," War ren says. "It is important to talk with someone early rather then waiting till November to discuss grade problems for the first semester. "The student shouldn't feel that going to a counselor is a sign of incompetence or weakness," Warren added. "It can be a very healthy move."