<p>I’m sharing this from a parent’s perspective of a male student.</p>
<p>My son approached the first year room selection with the attitude of: “I’m willing to chance who I am paired up with”. He did complete the housing preferences but did not seek out roommates via any social network sites. </p>
<p>My son arrived alone to campus by plane and airport shuttle on a Sunday for Alabama Action. None of the assigned suitemates were participating in Alabama Action. When the campus wide move-in day came, he had one new freshman from out of state and two sophomore’s. The four of them had no conflicts the entire year. My son did hangout with the other freshman the initial weeks of classes but each of the suitemates had busy schedules with different obligations (Varsity Athletics, CBH, ROTC, other friends, etc…). This allowed for a natural acceptence that the four of them had one thing in common - a key to the same front door. The first week on campus, the four guys took inventory of who brought what for use in the common areas (bath/kitchen/front room). They then volunteered/delegated who was responsible for getting the needed escentials like broom/dustpan, waste baskets, cleaners, etc. Since my son did not have a car, the other freshman offered to drive him to Target and Walmart. My son also purchased his bike once he got settled on campus. I purchased items on line and had them shipped directly to Paty Hall - Package Delivery Service. *I also shipped lots of his belongings before he arrived to campus. </p>
<p>My son’s second year roommate selection was very similar to his first year. He considered moving into the Bluff’s with some friends but opted to stay in Riverside. The friends he wanted to room with where not eligible for Honors Housing so he allowed the computer to assign his suitemates. This year only one of his suitemates moved in, in August. It was odd but a second suitemate showed up just before the Fall Break room inspections. The guy must have been staying off campus at his own expense. For security purposes only, we insisted that our son confirm with Housing (RA) that this “ghost” roommate was who he said he was. (All checked out OK.) The fourth room was not occupied until second semester. </p>
<p>So far, both years have been pleasant in Riverside (North-08’) (East-09’). My son has already reserved the exact same suite and bedroom for next fall. I’m happy for selfish reasons. I am a decorator and artist. With my son’s blessing, I created some great over sized art work that coordinates with the fabrics in his front room. When the RA and other female students enter his suite, they do a double-take and have asked if guys “really” live there. They have said that the place looked very nice and was the neatest GUYS apartment they had ever seen…</p>
<p>Last May I flew down to campus to help him packup and share the 11 hour drive home. I contracted with a local storage company to rent a “climate controlled” locker for May, June, July and part of August. We stored everything that he would not need during his summer at home (bookshelf, printer, TV-Monitor, cold weather clothing, kitchen & bath items, etc…). We only brought home his computer, summer clothes, laptop and bedding to wash.</p>