Section 3: Finding A roommate
Roommates are an interesting thing. For some reason, it seems like you and your roommate either are joined at the hip or want nothing to do with each other. For a lot of kids, having a roommate is a new concept to them. They have their own room at home yet when they go to college, they are going to share a tiny room with a complete stranger. For some this sounds like a blast, but for others they want nothing to do with it. Every college handles the roommate process in different ways which include random selection, requesting a pairing and indicating on a housing form (at select colleges) that you have food allergies. We have said before that RA's in freshman dorms are rarely trained in food allergy emergencies and how to use an auto-injector. We can share a clever work around. One school that said that it could not train RA's in using epinephrine placed a student with multiple food allergies on a floor of all pre-med majors who were in a living-learning community - and more than happy to learn how to use an auto-injector.
As a food allergy student, the most important thing is safety. And with roommates things can go either way. Your or your parents may think it is safer to live with a roommate who can watch out for you when your family is not there. Disabilities services may say it is safer for you to live alone because of risk of allergen contamination. Try to remain open-minded when making a decision on whether to have a roommate. If your parents live close to the school, maybe you - and they - feel less worried about the risks of having a roommate. If your parents live far away from the school and would have trouble responding quickly to an emergency, you might want to take the safest route to preventing a reaction - living alone. Remember, preventing a reaction is goal #1, knowing what to do in case of a reaction is #2. As we said in another section, we know students with food allergies who lived with roommates who said they would keep allergens out of the room - but did not. We also know parents who refused to send their child to a school unless they agreed to live alone, and we know parents who allowed their FA student to have a roommate.
If you can live in a dorm and eat dining hall food, your chosen school may have single dorm buildings. So you won't be socially isolated because everyone is in a single. If you need a kitchen, you might have to live in a building with older students, which could be socially isolating - but remember in one short year you will be a sophomore. There are also advantages to living in a single dorm or apartment - a quiet place to study. If you or your parents are still worried that living alone is a safety hazard, consider purchasing an emergency alert system (see Safety Systems) that contacts a dispatch center at the press of a button. That dispatcher can call an ambulance and your parents on your behalf and even use GPS to know where you are located if you are not in your room or apartment. These systems may also be a good idea for students who are commuting to college by car alone. They can also be used as general safety protection from any threat when out and about on campus.
How about we look at the pros and cons of having a roommate:
Pros:
As a food allergy student, the most important thing is safety. And with roommates things can go either way. Your or your parents may think it is safer to live with a roommate who can watch out for you when your family is not there. Disabilities services may say it is safer for you to live alone because of risk of allergen contamination. Try to remain open-minded when making a decision on whether to have a roommate. If your parents live close to the school, maybe you - and they - feel less worried about the risks of having a roommate. If your parents live far away from the school and would have trouble responding quickly to an emergency, you might want to take the safest route to preventing a reaction - living alone. Remember, preventing a reaction is goal #1, knowing what to do in case of a reaction is #2. As we said in another section, we know students with food allergies who lived with roommates who said they would keep allergens out of the room - but did not. We also know parents who refused to send their child to a school unless they agreed to live alone, and we know parents who allowed their FA student to have a roommate.
If you can live in a dorm and eat dining hall food, your chosen school may have single dorm buildings. So you won't be socially isolated because everyone is in a single. If you need a kitchen, you might have to live in a building with older students, which could be socially isolating - but remember in one short year you will be a sophomore. There are also advantages to living in a single dorm or apartment - a quiet place to study. If you or your parents are still worried that living alone is a safety hazard, consider purchasing an emergency alert system (see Safety Systems) that contacts a dispatch center at the press of a button. That dispatcher can call an ambulance and your parents on your behalf and even use GPS to know where you are located if you are not in your room or apartment. These systems may also be a good idea for students who are commuting to college by car alone. They can also be used as general safety protection from any threat when out and about on campus.
How about we look at the pros and cons of having a roommate:
Pros:
- An instant friend/allergy ally who can speak up for you if you are sick and can call 911 if something were to happen to you while in your room.
- They may bring food you are allergic to or environmental allergens into your room
- They may not wash their hands before coming in your room.
- If they have allergies themselves they may be different then yours.