Having woken up to piles of vomit scattered throughout her Buddig Hall residence, Music Therapy Senior Faith Benford has experienced her share of roommate problems.

“One night my roommate went out to party and the next morning I woke up to three piles of throw up around her bed and another pile leading into the bathroom and another pile in the bathroom. That was the worst,” Benford said.

In attempts to remove herself from the situation, Benford went to Tulane University to study, scared that if she remained on Loyola’s campus that she would still be able to smell the stench of the vomit.

“When I got back, the room was cleaned up but still wreaked of vomit. I took matters into my own hands and I poured her bleach and her detergent onto the floor and then let her know it was ready to be cleaned up,” Benford said.

College is a time in life designated to educate students intellectually. However, the challenges presented to students are sometimes not found in the classroom,but in their college residence hall or apartment.

Benford was very upset because of the situation, but after both of the roommates cooled down, she started to work toward mending the damage created from the passive aggressive fight.

Benford was eventually successful in patching up the relationship by creating a dialogue with her roommate. Benford said she believes communication was lacking from the start of the living arrangement.

“If something bothers you just say it, don’t be passive aggressive about it,” Benford said. “It’s the best way to get rid of problems quickly.”

By talking the problem out, Benford said that the rest of the semester ran much smoother for both roommates.

“Communication is key,” Kristin Himmelberg, A ’13, said.

Himmelberg has run into problems when roommates do not pick up after themselves. However, if it is due to a tight schedule or other issues, she said it is important to be patient with the people you live with.

“Life happens, sometimes you have to be flexible. Your roommate might be a clean person but is busier one week than most. If the problem continues sit down and talk to them,” Himmelberg said.

Associate Director of Residential Life at Loyola Amy Boyle said that while experiences with roommates are not all left to chance, being flexible and understanding helps relationships to continue smoothly.

“The best advice I can give is to approach a new roommate with an open mind and understand that all of us are changing and growing all of the time. You and I are not exactly the same person as we were 5 years ago, 1 year ago or even a few months ago,” Boyle said.

After graduating from Loyola and living with roommates for four years, Himmelberg has learned lessons that work to make living situations stress-free.

Shortly after moving in with her new roommates, they scheduled a meeting where basic rules of the house and chore responsibilities were distributed.

“Everyone does something and pitches in to keep the house clean. I’ve had roommates who don’t help out and this is how we avoided running into those same kind of issues,” Himmelberg said.

Experience has taught Benford to take care of her roommate issues swiftly and tactfully. As a senior, she enjoys a healthy relationship with her roommate by using the communication skills she has picked up over her four years of sharing living spaces with others.

Leslie Gamboni can be reached at [email protected]