Generally, you should talk to your roomate about ahem visitors.
It’s quite rude to be doing the nasty whilst the other one of you is trying to finish bio homework.
Just work out an agreement and you should be fine. If they start being grabby when you’re around, it is your right to douse them with water.
I fully disagree. The other (i.e. “grabbing”) individual lives there too. I think that if there’s a mutual ‘one-for-one get out of the room’ deal, things would work out. Keep in mind that the your roommate has every right to live there too. . .
Tripler
Posted by Star Light:
Actually, from a guy’s perspective, I’d have to say that the only polite thing to do is to offer to join in.
Mom did say that college was a time for new experiences… 
Trust your feelings, Luke. I think a better argument than simply the whole fear-of-getting-caught thing is that you now live in a community–one that is going to be much more close-knit than your average apartment building. As someone who’s seen plenty of geniuses who “knew” how to circumvent the dorm laundry machines yet somehow encountered something that “went wrong”, I would urge you to save up for the trips home or bite the bullet. These people are your neighbors and vandalism impacts the people around you.
Actually, there’s a big difference between are and can be. It would be a mistake to assume your RA is going to be lax (and most buildings have more than one that does duty/rounds/etc.). Since you’re moving into an existing dynamic, ask around as to what the different “philosophies” of the hall staff members are before you automatically start acting fast-&-loose around them.
As for the hot plate thing. When I was a freshman, the building next to mine had a hot plate-related fire. The individuals in the room lost everything. Over a dozen residents had to be relocated because their rooms were also damaged–and even more had a wide assortment of their possessions ruined from the smoke damage.
Tossing a frisbee down the hallway. Throwing your keys out your fourth floor window so you don’t have to let your buddy in. Leaving some incense on because you like the smell. 99.9% of the time, no harm no foul, everyone’s happy (I’ve been there; we all do it). But I’ve seen these “harmless” activities become accidents of a much more serious nature as well. Nobody ever “means” for it to happen, but that is small comfort later–and it’s usually too high a price to pay for the “infraction” in question. I know plenty of people who survived through college without a hot plate. Just my $0.02
At the risk of sounding “uncool”, I find labeling some RAs as “cooler” than others seriously problematic. The same RA that’s cool enough to allow you to party without getting into trouble is also going to be the RA least likely to tell the asshole next door to turn down his stereo at 2am when you’re trying to type out your term paper. And how exactly is it “uncool” to want to do your job? I wasn’t a hardass by any stretch of the imagination, but I could not have gotten through college without having several jobs, including being an RA. If something serious happens (aforementioned fire) and they learn you knew about the hotpot, the campus administrators are going to be very unsympathetic to your “cool” standing among your residents. There are such things as warnings and educational sanctions, but I know I wasn’t about to risk my ability to pay tuition for someone who simply doesn’t feel like following the rules. I’ll be the first to admit that some hall staff can have serious attitude problems or power trips (hey, I’ve supervised them), but most “uncool” RAs are simply doing their job. It was always easy to single out the most mature residents by simply noticing which ones actually understood this (especially the ones who took responsibility for breaking the rules instead of blaming the RA when getting caught).
Overnight guests aren’t necessarily against the rules. From the sounds of it, you must be moving into a single-sex environment, so the rules might vary. However, it can be frustrating if you pay for a double and find yourself living in a triple because your roomie’s SO is always there. There’s a compromise out there somewhere.
“Do you mind?” works. Turning on some lights. If this is a first time, coming back in an hour or two and talking it over the next morning. Although it is your roomie’s room as much as yours, it is unreasonable for him/her to expect you to be displaced all night (even if there is a lounge you can sleep in nearby). It’d be better to talk these things out, rather than to have someone take liberties with the other’s flexibility for their convenience.
Thanks for all you help, ArchiveGuy. It’s been especially useful since you were an RA yourself. I will definitely take your advice as well as the advice of everyone that has posted with me to the dorms. I leave Jan. 13. Wish me luck!
<3,
Star Light
On the guest situation: this is a good reason to make friends. The dorms on my campus have a “lounger” (aka the Screw-ton), which is essentially a couch that pulls out a bit. I’ve had friends crash multiple times, because their roommates have boyfriends over, and they thought it’d be nice to give 'em some privacy.
BTW, if you do this, it’s generally quite appreciated, and you can always use it as a bargaining chip later.
(I’m lucky–my roommate’s boyfriend is just up the stairs, and has a single. :D)
It sounds like you should take a fire extinguisher. 
Anyway, find a handy person (Dad? Brother? Mom?) and have them help you make a loft. Sure, your bed will be 18 inches from the ceiling, but you’ll have a TON more living space!
Good luck!
My room will be double occupancy with two single beds. They can be stacked like bunk beds if we so chose. That’s what we’ll probably do. Thanx for the suggestion.
I thought of something last night for you. I think we all didn’t notice that you’ll be entering school at mid-year, which may or may not add a different dimension.
Is your roommate moving in at the same time, or has she been there all year?
Most likely, if you’re moving into a section that’s been already established for a semester, the section is going to be fairly developed (as a unit). People will already know which RAs do what, which toilets suck, which shower curtains get stolen, etc.
Socially, it will be a little different than what I encountered entering school in August. I’m not sure how socially apt you are. But shy or outgoing, you’ll need to assert yourself.
Force yourself to introduce yourself to at least 2 people, other than your roommate. Be the first one to suggest going out as a group - a movie, cup of coffee, etc. Somethig other than a dining hall meal or study session (anything school related).
I had several friends who moved in at semester, and they slid into the group flawlessly. Its nothing to worry about, its just different.
[story]When I was an RA, we had someone move in 2 1/2 months into the year. He made it a point to introduce himself to the entire section, and to go out with his roommates (3 of them - it was a quad). They came home drunk, him especially. They continued drinking in the room (alcohol was allowed). This room (actually 2 connected rooms) had a huge loft about 12 feet up (15 foot ceilings). He proceeded to climb up the loft, and roll off the side of it, ON PURPOSE. He did it “just to get that out of the way.” Broke his arm, but became instantly popular for doing so.[/story]
In no way do I recommend throwing yourself from lofts just to become popular. But you will have to sacrifice a bit of yourself to transition in.
$.02 for you.
Get some cinder blocks and use them to raise your bed. This gives you a bit more storage space.
Christmas lights make good decorations, no matter what time of year it is.
Buy a water pistol. You won’t regret it.
Be sure you go home at least once a month, if only so you can do your laundry for free.
Quarters are worth a lot more than 25 cents. Hoard them.
This worked for me, I wonder how many others had a similar opportunity:
When I needed quaters for the laundry, I would schlep down to the Student Union, where the attractions included a small video arcade, which included a dollar-to-quarter change machine. I’d change a buck or two, then head back to my dorm and wash away.
FWIW. YMMV.
My school’s arcade used tokens. Clever bastards, always one step ahead of us!
We have change machines in our laundry rooms. Thing is, I’ve never seen one that works. You’d think the university wants to have people walking around campus in crunchy pants or something.
What’s so bad about crunch pants?
j/k
I don’t know if I’ve seent his mentioned yet or not, but…
Bring a good, loud alarm clock/clock radio. And place it somewhere that you actually have to get up out of bed to deal with. That way, when it goes off, you have no choice but to achieve verticality to deal with it. I did this, and it wasn’t because I wasn’t awake that I didn’t make the cut for my second year.
Um, HannibalV? You posted the exact same thing 4 days ago. Trying to kill threads, hmmm?
I now pronounce steeljaw the Thread Killer du Jour.
I don’t know what’s going on, Connor. This isn’t the only place one of my posts has hiccupped in this manner. Same thing happened in the “First Concert” thread. All I can say is that I apologize for any inconvenience and I don’t know what’s happening or what to do about it.
No need to apologize, coach. Just kidding with you. I was referring to steeljaw’s thread in MPSIMS about killing three threads in a row. Seems you had done the same. Servers will pump out a bunch of your posts at the same time occassionally.
Welcome to the board.