Article July 24, 2006 Issue

Roommates 101

BY ROGER GORDON

We were freshman roommates—and we were complete opposites. Dave drank all the time. I never touched alcohol. Dave played poker as if it were a way of life. I didn't gamble, and still don't. Dave went to sleep at 4 a.m. I liked to turn in by midnight. He never mentioned God. I went to church twice a week.

I suppose a university with 36,000 students doesn't have the time to match every single person with the ideal roommate. The housing form I filled out asked only one question: Do you smoke?

Dave (not his real name) didn't smoke, but he did drink. A lot. And while this bothered me on a personal level, it also had a real impact on our day-to-day living together.