Part 1: R-E-S-P-E-C-T

THREE’S COMPANY In this three-part series, the
Daily Bruin will look into the lives of three freshmen roommates in
Dykstra Hall, documenting their adjustment to college life. Look
for updates each quarter.   Photos by CATHY JUN Roommates
Justin Logue, Efrain Gutierrez
and Andy Ramirez share some laughs and a game on
their Playstation in their eighth-floor triple room in Dykstra
Hall. The three have learned to compromise and respect one another
as they’ve adjusted to life in the dorm.

By Stella Chu
Daily Bruin Contributor

A few moments after the deafening sound of the alarm clock
disturbs the peace of the early morning, a hand fumbles in the dark
and finally hits the snooze button.

“I probably hit the snooze button more than I
should,” Justin Logue, a first-year mechanical engineering
student later admitted.

This cycle repeats a few more times before Logue stumbles out of
bed to prepare for his 8 a.m. class.

“I didn’t think it would be such a big deal to get
up that early since I did it all the time in high school,” he
said. “I get a lot less sleep now so I know I’m not
going to that again next quarter.”

The light streaming in through a sliver in the curtains reveals
a tiny room with two bunk beds and personal belongings towering
over Logue on both sides.

His two other roommates, Efrain Gutierrez, a first-year math
student and Andy Ramirez, a first-year English and Chicano studies
student, stir in their beds, too tired to comment on the continuous
alarm disturbances.

For all three, this is home for the next seven months.

Logue gathers his bath supplies for the journey to the other
side of the hall to a shower in a cramped stall where the
consistency of water temperature is always questionable.

“We have to walk so far to get to the showers and they are
too small,” he said.

Gutierrez agreed with Logue, although he pointed out the
benefits in taking the long trek.

“The showers are on the other side of the hall but
I’ve made a lot of friends passing the rooms on the way to
the bathroom,” he said.

  First-year mechanical engineering student and Dykstra
resident Justin Logue sorts his clothes during
some free time in the evening. From the meager size of the cubicle
that accommodates the lives of three people to the over-utilization
of the snooze button that wakes the entire room, this scene from a
Clarence Dykstra Hall triple room is the epitome of UCLA freshman
life.

And approximately 552 rooms are arranged in this manner,
according to the Office of Residential Life Web site.

“We live in a closet,” Gutierrez said.

After years of comfort and space living with their parents,
freshman suddenly find themselves in a new environment where they
must adapt in order to preserve their sanity during the first year
in college.

“When I first got here, I hated it,” Ramirez said.
“However, you get used to it, you learn to adapt.”

How is it that they adjust? The answer, according to these three
residents, is as simple as “getting used to
everything.”

The three roommates initially decided on furniture arrangement
in the 180-square-foot room on a first come, first served basis.
Later, they mutually consented to the current arrangement.

“I sort of got the leftovers,” Logue said.

The roommates encountered their first case of respect and
compromise for one another as they worked together to set up the
final design of the room.

It was just one of the many adjustments to come.

  Justin Logue relaxes on his bed and
watches "Monday Night Football." Logue is a first-year mechanical
engineering student.

“We tried a lot of things before we all finally agreed
upon one thing,” he said.

Though there is this shared consideration among the three of
them, the lack of space sometimes leads to small conflicts,
especially in the area of cleanliness.

“Andy is the messy one,” Gutierrez said, as Logue
agreed. “The two of us always make our beds.”

Ramirez, however disagreed. “They’re lying,”
he said, laughing. “They’re not Mr. Cleans
either.”

Logue moderated the momentary bickering.

“It’s really not that bad at all, but we say it just
so he knows,” he said.

Despite common consideration among the roommates, their
floormates don’t always echo the same courtesy.

“Sometimes I can’t study in the study lounge because
it’s too distracting,” Gutierrez said.

Ramirez, however, sometimes welcomes the noise.

“I come from a Latino community so basically I always like
to have the door open,” he said. “Some people
can’t can’t deal with the noise, I can have
noise.”

But sometimes the hall doesn’t live up to its
reputation.

“Dykstra is always known to be social,” said
Ramirez. “They said it was going to be a party everyday, but
everybody is generally respectful.”

“I thought people would be hanging from the walls,”
he added.

Floor conflicts have even created a small rivalry between the
sexes earlier in the quarter.

“At the beginning, only one bathroom had a bench and the
other one didn’t,” said Logue. “So we kept
stealing the bench back and forth.”

For some first-year students, learning to live on the same floor
as the opposite sex may create problems, but the roommates found no
difficulty adjusting.

“I have no problems with the coed situation,” said
Ramirez.

The theme of respect extends to the dating scene, where the
three discuss beforehand having members of the opposite sex spend
the night.

“If somebody’s planning on having a girl over, we
just let the other roommates know ahead of time,” said
Logue.

Despite these close quarters, all three lead very separate
lives.

Gutierrez said he maintains a close connection with his family
and goes home every weekend. Logue and Ramirez also have their own
agendas for the days off.

“I’m hardly ever in the room,” Ramirez
said.

Logue spent last weekend snowboarding with friends.

In addition, both Logue and Ramirez hold on-campus jobs that
keep them away from the room during the day.

“Working at Ackerman is great because it accommodates my
schedule,” Logue said.

Ramirez, who works at the Central Ticket Office, agreed.

“I can work a couple of hours in between classes,”
he said. “It’s really flexible,” he said.

Between juggling jobs and dealing with the stress of early
classes, all three roommates nevertheless are able to live and
interact with each other as friends. They often spend afternoons
playing video games together.

“It’s cool though,” said Ramirez smiling,
“We all hang out and have a lot of fun.”