A new issue that has been popping up across colleges in the U.S. is a phenomenon termed "helicopter parents," according to Issam Khoury, resident director of Letts Hall.
So named because they have a tendency to hover over their child, these parents become involved in their children's campus lives, even dealing with issues between their son or daughter and his or her roommate.
"American University does not differ drastically from other colleges on this issue," Khoury said.
Parents sometimes intervene on their child's behalf by calling or visiting the resident director's office, claiming their child is "non-confrontational." he said.
"We encourage parents to let their students seek out help or solutions to their problems," said Valerie Verra, assistant to Faith Leonard, the dean of students.
"I like to take care of things myself--there was no need for them to get involved," a sophomore in CAS said.
Due to the intimate nature of the issue, and an unwillingness to cause any undue strife or embarrassment, all students interviewed declined to be identified.
The university has taken steps to deal with issues that may arise between roommates. The first step for students is to meet with their resident assistant and work together to complete a two-part roommate contract. Should the contract not end the conflict, the resident director is consulted before moving to roommate reassignment, or taking judicial action if required, according to Khoury.
Some of the most common conflicts that arise include differences of study habits, overnight guests, cleanliness and clashing person- alities.
According to the students who were interviewed, it is in only rare and extreme instances when the school administration has to be consulted.
A senior in SIS recalled some of the problems with his roommate of freshman year. At one point in March the roommate "sexiled" the student for five days and took the mattress off of both beds to sleep on. Because the incident happened so close to the end of the school year, the student decided to wait out the rest of the year.
A freshman in SPA has also found it unnecessary to get either parents or the administration involved. Despite personality clashes and money being owed, she has elected instead to talk about the issue directly with the roommate.
Freshmen are not the only students that face conflicts with roommates. Upperclassmen that room with people they previously knew face similar issues. "I've also worked with upperclassmen that have difficulty sharing a room with a friend. Sometimes good friends don't make good roommates if you have different expectations for living together," said Rosemary Perez, area director for the North Side and Tenley campus.
One sophomore living off campus cautioned, "When you pick a roommate, pick someone who is dependable, not someone you have a good time with"
