Temperate Climate

THREE’S COMPANY In this three-part series, the
Daily Bruin will document the lives of three students, who were
randomly picked to live in the same room and share their lives for
an entire school year.   Photo by CLAIRE ZUGMEYER First-year
students Francine Maigue and Kendra
Carney discuss their social lives while relaxing in their
triple room in De Neve Plaza. Many students have to adjust to
sharing a room with two others if they want to live on campus.

By Stella Chu
Daily Bruin Contributor

College can be a learning experience even before classes
start.

After finding out that her two other roommates were theater and
world arts and cultures students, first-year neuroscience student
Kendra Carney initially became worried.

“I guess I was concerned with how I was going to study
with two arts-based (students),” she said.

Eventually, though, Carney realized she was wrong. Her
roommates, first-year WAC student Francine Maigue and first-year
theater student Zoe Boxer, knew when to study and when to
socialize.

For Maigue, the roommates complement each other.

“I saw a balanced benefit with the two majors my roommates
had,” she said. “With neuroscience, I saw study
opportunities; and with the theater major, fun.”

In addition to the academic differences, roommate idiosyncracies
caused some minor misconceptions at first.

For Boxer, Maigue’s fetish for organization and matching
desk and bath accessories initially sent up warning flags.

  Photo by CLAIRE ZUGMEYER First-year theater student
Zoe Boxer studies at her desk Tuesday evening.
“I walked in and saw her desk and the bathroom and I thought
to myself, this is going to be interesting,” Boxer said with
a laugh. “Everything was from IKEA.”

In addition to getting over the first impressions, the students
who live in De Neve Plaza had to adapt to the space limitations of
a triple room.

Even though De Neve is often masked in myths of luxury and
expansive space, the three worked out an intricate system of
Rubbermaid storage boxes, organizational shelves and shared drawer
space in order to maximize space.

And though it is now winter quarter, Boxer said the roommates
are still trying to solve the space problem.

“Francine probably has the most stuff, but she got the
short end of the stick,” Boxer said, referring to
Maigue’s limited shelf space.

According to Maigue, she was open to negotiation and
maneuvering, and willing to give up space.

“And I was fine with taking all of it,” Boxer said
jokingly.

Though the three need to share one bathroom, they leave the door
unlocked when someone is using the shower in case the sink needs to
be used.

“I guess you need to get over the modesty thing,”
Boxer said. And Carney added that, though “it was weird at
first, you eventually get used to it.”

Sometimes, however, even these kinds of improvisations
aren’t enough when there are just too many people living in
such a small space.

Sleeping arrangements was a minor obstacle since some of the
roommates were unaccustomed to the bunked beds.

“I must admit, sleep was definitely an initial
problem,” Boxer said. “I really need it, and I
can’t sleep with people talking.”

  Photo by CLAIRE ZUGMEYER Francine
Maigue, a World Arts and Culture student, looks in the
mirror in the bathroom she shares with her two roommates.

Using the phone in the bathroom and going to the study lounge
are solutions, added Boxer.

Trying to get ready quietly is sometimes impossible, according
to Carney.

“I did crew first quarter and had to get up at 4:30 in the
morning,” she said. “You can’t really be quiet
when you’re getting ready; somebody is going to
hear.”

Curtains are used to cover the beds so that roommates can sleep
with the room’s lights on.

“The curtains and my Christmas lights are the first things
I put up when I moved in,” Boxer said.

Such solutions can be effective, although the ultimate solution
is through verbal communication.

“I guess you just learn to adapt,” Maigue said.
“There isn’t any complex process. It’s not like
“˜Survivor’ where somebody is voted out.”

Unlike the elaborate methods devised to share space, the girls
follow a simple policy of common courtesy when addressing
problems.

“None of us are extreme people,” Boxer said.
“We hold no grudges.”

On the other hand, none of the roommates shy away from talking
about issues, even though they feel discomfort because of their
shared friendship, Boxer said.

And despite their separate agendas ““ Boxer is involved in
the theater department, Carney in the Greek system, and Maigue is
involved in the Student Alumni Association and floor government
““ they all manage to find time for each other, even if it
doesn’t involve traditional roommate activities.

Even though weekends or dinners are rarely spent together, they
still are able to confide in each other.

“When somebody comes home for the day, we have this kind
of check-up, where we talk about each other’s days,”
Boxer said

Their adaptation to each other has extended to the rest of the
floormates.

Despite the rumors of the less social aspects of living in De
Neve Plaza, characteristics of high-rise living still echo through
the halls.

“When we first met our neighbors, we were expecting
gangster guys because they would blast hip hop music,” Maigue
said. “We’re friends now, but we would have to pound on
the walls to get them to stop.”

Beyond connecting with their floormates, they have created a
bond between themselves, reflecting how they complement each
other.

“We’re like 120 degrees from each other,”
added Boxer. “We fill in the gaps of each other.”