An example of a single room in Jones Tower. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Lantern Reporter
While most students are sound asleep, Ryan Tobin, a second-year in military history, starts his morning early with the ROTC. Tobin said he chose to live in a single his second year to avoid disturbing roommates.
“Having my own room means I can wake up without bothering anyone,” Tobin said.
Ohio State’s main campus has 42 residence halls, and each building offers different types of rooms for students, according to University Housing’s website. Living accommodations range from singles, doubles and triples to quads and suites for six to eight people.
Singles offer students a place to call their own opposed to multiperson residence hall rooms, in which students live in one space together, learning how to manage and collaborate in a shared space.
John Wilson, a second-year in psychology, lived in a double his first year in Bowen House, but for his second year, he moved into a single in Raney House.
Wilson said he enjoyed having a roommate his first year because it meant he always had someone with whom to talk and hang out.
“It was always comforting to know that I can come back to the room and talk to him about what’s going on in my life,” Wilson said. “Or just have him there to hear me if I wanted someone to talk to.”
However, Wilson said he enjoys living in a single this year because he has more personal time to himself and does not have to worry about inconveniencing anyone else, but misses having a roommate.
“We wouldn’t even plan to do stuff sometimes,” Wilson said. “We would have fun at night just doing random stuff, just spur of the moment. It was irreplaceable.”
Single living is not for everyone. Arianna Contestable, a second-year in psychology, has lived with roommates for two years now. Contestable is currently in a double in Park-Stradley Hall, but during her first year, she lived in a quad in Drackett Tower.
Contestable said she enjoys living in a double with her friend from high school since they know each other well and they know how to give each other individual space while living in close quarters.
“I didn’t like Drackett much because it was such a small space,” Contestable said. “It’s hard to be alone when there’s like three other people living with you sometimes, but if there’s only one, it’s easy to be alone for a bit.”
Caroline Goergen, a second-year in special education, lives in an eight-person suite in Houston House.
In the suite, Goergen and her roommates have a common room attached to four doubles.
“There’s people there immediately that you ask if they want to do stuff with you and make plans,” Goergen said. “If I were alone, I would feel pretty isolated.”
However, living with multiple roommates increases the chances of disagreement or miscommunication.
Goergen said that at the beginning of the year, the suite had good communication among all roommates, but then there was a shift in the space.
“We started to have issues with communication,” Goergen said. “We isolated both of the sides.”
Julia Gerard, a second-year in finance, enjoys living in a double with a roommate because it means there is always someone there to talk to when she comes back from classes. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Lantern Reporter
