Students can visit the Off-Campus and Commuter Student Services website for roommate ads to find roommates or subleasing opportunities. Credit: Lantern File Photo
Many people are familiar with roommate horror stories and hope they will not be the ones telling them. If Ohio State students find themselves in this situation, the university has several resources to productively diffuse conflict and find roommates.
To alleviate the anxiety around living with new people next fall, Dilnavaz Cama, director of the Willie J. Young, Sr. Off-Campus and Commuter Student Engagement, said the program uses community ambassadors to build support for students as they transition into off-campus living.
Community ambassadors are students trained in the resources offered by Ohio State for on- and off-campus students. They can help other students based on their own experience combined with their training, Cama said.
“Community ambassadors are phenomenal and accessible resources since they are students who have gone through the experience of renting, have experiences with roommates or commuting and can either help based on their own experiences or use their training to direct students to the right resources,” Cama said.
On the Off-Campus and Commuter Student Engagement website, students can post ads that range from searching for a roommate, needing to split living costs and/or subleasing to study abroad. After connecting online, students can come to roommate fairs where they can meet face-to-face.
“Hosting events once a month with a joint service such as parking services has also allowed for students to meet their neighbors and for community ambassadors to encourage people to look after one another,” Cama said.
But finding a roommate is not the only battle students may face. Living together can also cause conflicts, but bringing in a third party might help, said Kelly Smith, director of Student Life Student Conduct, which partnered with the Moritz College of Law to create the Student Mediation Program.
Smith said the Student Mediation Program helps students stop the ongoing cycle of unhealthy living habits and take control of their lives in a healthy manner that benefits both parties involved. As a result, participants have seen significant improvements in living arrangements and roommate relationships.
However, many students may avoid inviting a third party into conflicts, especially those as intimate as roommate problems.
Caleb Friedman, a first-year in finance, prefers to handle roommate conflicts independently and without the involvement of a mediator.
“If I can deal with it myself, I will deal with it myself,” Friedman said.
Friedman said that to get a third party involved, things would have to get “pretty extreme” and he would need to feel really “uncomfortable” or “unsafe.”
Nick Wead, a student mediator for the Student Mediation Program, describes his role in the mediation process as a neutral third party that empowers both parties to share their perspectives.
According to the Student Conduct website, student mediators receive training in the alternative dispute resolution program at Moritz College. This program trains prospective lawyers in conflict resolution outside of the courtroom, which includes mediation.
“The role of the mediator is not to force a resolution but to hopefully reconnect the parties with the process being entirely voluntary,” Wead said.
Smith said the service generally takes a few hours in total. Students interested in utilizing this service will have to fill out a request form online to start.
They will then be set up with a law student, who is required to keep all details involving the conflict confidential. Some conflicts may be resolved in one visit or could require follow-up meetings, Smith said.
Wead said mediation can often help people find common ground they did not know they shared with the other person.
“Mediation is valuable because it allows people to discover underlying interests with the third-party mediator, helping bring down the wall of each party to have a deeper conversation,” Wead said.
Smith said mediation is a worthwhile route to try.
“There are no downsides to it and it can be worth the effort to see if an agreement can be reached rather than spending weeks, months, a semester or even an entire academic year in an unhappy living situation,” Smith said.
