Tips for Parents
• As a Parent if you contact the office of Residence Life we will be glad to listen to your input at any time. However, if you have a specific concern about your student’s residence or roommate we will request to speak with your student in person before any action is taken.
• Don’t just Facebook. When your student receives their roommate assignment, encourage them to call and speak with their new roommate in person. It is becoming more frequent that students look up their roommate on a social networking site and make immediate judgments (good and bad) without ever communicating in person. Realize that many times the portrait depicted on-line is not who the student really is. Also, keep in mind that room changes will not be granted until after the Add/Drop period.
• Encourage your student to TALK to their roommate. The vast majority of roommate conflicts we see are because students never talk to each other about their problems.
• If something is troubling your student, they should address it immediately. The biggest problems we deal with are situations in which students choose not to address them in a timely manner. Problems are much easier to solve on a smaller scale and when they are recent as opposed to when they have had time to fester.
• Remind your student to take their roommate contract seriously. Every pair of roommates is required to sit down and complete a roommate contract. The roommate contract is a mutually agreed upon document that covers everything from sleep times to borrowing each other's stuff. By setting out living guidelines in the beginning of the year and sticking to them will help prevent problems later on.
• If your student talks to you about problems with their room, remind them to talk to their RA. Resident Advisors (RAs) are upper class students who live on every floor. They are trained in dealing with a variety of student issues including conflict resolution. Students should go to their RA anytime they have issues with their halls; that includes anything from maintenance problems to roommate conflicts. Each residence hall also has a Residence Hall Director (RHD) who supervises the RAs and is also available to assist students. RHDs are staff members who live in the hall and serve on-call duty rotations.
• Encourage your student to take advantage of campus activities. With the advancement and increase of technology we are seeing more and more students spending increasing amounts of time in their rooms; using email, instant messenger, and social networking sites as their primary means of communication. While utilizing these technologies is a wonderful means of staying in touch it is vital that students also become proficient in other inter-personal forms of communication. Taking advantage of the numerous programs and activities available in the hall and on campus is a great opportunity to develop these skills.
• When you come to visit, do not expect their room to be just like it would be at home. Part of going away to college is identifying who you will be as an individual. Along with this come some changes in types of music, styles of clothes and how they might decorate their room. Don't be surprised if their room isn't as neat as you would expect it to be. Encourage them to develop their individuality and try not to judge them. The important thing is that they are happy with their living space.
• Encourage your student to deal with their problems themselves. While it is natural to want to try and solve your student's problems for them, it is not always the best way for them to learn. Support your student when they are dealing with a problem but encourage them to take the necessary steps to try and handle it themselves through the correct channels. In the rare cases where the student does everything they are suppose too and still cannot get a problem corrected, then you may decide to contact someone at the college to try and help your student reach a solution.
