Connecting with Roommates
Conversation Starter with Roommate
We are so excited to see you soon! Just a few weeks until move-in begins! As we move closer to August, we wanted to encourage you to reach out to your roommates to start building connections. Below are instructions and suggested prompts to begin the conversation. Focus this time and energy on connecting with each other and who is bringing which items for your space. There will be plenty of time once you arrive on campus to discuss the expectations of living together and what feels best as you make this transition! Your RAs look forward to guiding you through that discussion.
We understand that living on your own can be exciting and nerve-racking, but we are looking forward to seeing your journey at CSU East Bay.
- Understand that living with other people is going to be a roller coaster at first. You are learning to be on your own and learning how to live with roommate(s) or suitemates.
- It might take a little bit to get adjusted to your roommate(s) habits and your academic/personal life.
- Not all roommate(s) and suitemates become best friends, and that’s perfectly ok. All we want is for you to be able to live together as comfortably as possible.
Before arriving at your Move-In date, consider reviewing the “What to Bring” list together to compare what items you may want to share and/or bring.
Get to know your roommate(s) and suitemates, have a genuine conversation with them; get to know their goals at CSU East Bay, their major, favorite things to do in their free time, etc. Be willing to get to know who you will be living with this academic year.
Understand that you and your roommate(s) might have different goals, interests, sleeping patterns and class schedules, etc.
- Fun activities to do with each other
- Share an I Am Poem
- Talk a walk around campus
- Check out the community spaces in Housing (Lassen community and El Dorado Hall)
- Have conversations with table tent topics in your apartments/suites
- Share each other's social media accounts
- Show each other your favorite meme, gif, or TikTok
- Go to campus events together
Living with roommate(s) and suitemates you are previously familiar with can be beneficial to your living experience. However, we want you to understand that even though you all are comfortable with each other, conflicts can still arise. We want you to be able to best navigate that.
Living with roommate(s) and suitemates you are previously familiar with can be a comfort as you know them personally as friends. Additionally, living together in on-campus residential communities will open new experiences. We want you to understand that even though you all are comfortable with each other, conflicts can still arise around these new topics such as cleaning, guests, noise, etc.
Roommate Agreements
Living in a shared community space can be a different experience for everyone. As a part of living in Housing, we require all of our residents to complete a Roommate Agreement with their apartment/suite. The Roommate Agreement was made for everyone in the shared space to communicate on different issues and matters that roommates/suitemates go through in everyday life. We want the space you are in to be as safe and comfortable for all the residents as possible.
You are free to reflect back on the Roommate Agreements if certain issues arise, you can revise it throughout the semester with help from your RA. Take a look at what the Roommate Agreement looks like.