[nabs-l] Single Room: Opinions

Sun Apr 25 00:46:37 UTC 2010

Hey Chelsea,
>From both a student and Resident Advisor point of view, it really
depends on you. I had a roommate my Freshmen year, and it worked out
just fine. I now have my own room, which is one of the perks of
working for residence life, and I absolutely love it. If you do decide
to have a roommate, just make sure you guys talk about your personal
preferences. At Emory wwe have students fill out roommate agreements,
where residents just write down times they would like to go to sleep,
room temperature and such. You'd be surprised the things that come up
when two strangers are thrown together. My roommate  was totally cool
with my books and everything, just make sure you keep your stuff to
your side of the room. A great place to store bulky braille books is
under your bed. If you're school has some kind of special rooming,
just don't take it, especially if they store you in some remote area
of your hall Like Arielle said, keeping an opened door policy is a
great way to make friends, and please go to your hall programs, you're
R.A will love you for it! A lot of times you get free food too! I love
free food! Ok, going back to my stats studying, but good luck, and
have fun!
Mary


On 4/24/10, Katie Wang <bunnykatie6 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi, Chelsea,
>   I think this will depend a lot on the style and set-up of your dorm
> as well as your personality. I had a single room during college, but
> it was part of a suite (I shared a living room and bathroom with three
> other girls), and it worked great for me. I did not feel socially
> isolated, and I was able to enjoy some privacy and personal space that
> most college students, blind or sighted, would appreciate. Since there
> were a lot of single rooms in my dorm, I did not stand out in any
> particular way with my peers. Although my computer equipment and
> braille books would have probably fit comfortably in a regular double
> room, having my own bedroom did mean that I could use a reader without
> worrying about bothering my roommate, and it also allowed me to use my
> Perkins brailler to do some of the more complicated math calculations.
> Having said that, I think that  having a roommate simply works better
> for some people than others, so if you shared a room with someone
> before and would like to have the roommate experience again, your
> blindness shouldn't keep you from the adventure (another blind student
> at my college chose to have a double room and it worked well for him).
> However, if you feel that having more privacy is important for you,
> feel free to ask for a single. As others have mentioned, though, make
> sure your room is not in a remote or "special" section of the dorm,
> and definitely don't shy away from participating in dorm/floor social
> events.
> Hope this helps, and best of luck with the start of college!
>    Katie
>
> On 4/24/10, Briley Pollard <brileyp at gmail.com> wrote:
>> As for me, having a roommate my freshman year was the best idea. I had a
>> lot
>> of books and equipment, but it worked out just fine. I ended up moving to
>> a
>> single the next year because I got a guide dog, but I definitely had a
>> great
>> start to my college experience by having a roommate. I learned a lot about
>> myself and how to interact with others.
>>
>> Good luck!!
>>
>> Briley
>>
>>
>> On Apr 24, 2010, at 12:07 PM, Arielle Silverman wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Chelsea and all,
>>>
>>> Don't get me started on this--when I was in college all the blind
>>> students were urged to get single rooms, for similar reasons as what
>>> you described. We were also urged to get the special
>>> wheelchair-accessible rooms at the end of the hall so we could have
>>> more space and our own bathroom. I ended up doing the single, but
>>> insisted on having a normal room in the middle of the hall so I
>>> wouldn't be so isolated from everyone else (not to mention appear more
>>> disabled than I really am to all my floormates). In hindsight I don't
>>> think having the single was bad, but it certainly wasn't necessary,
>>> and I do wonder if I would have been more socially active had I had a
>>> typical room with a roommate. I also had Braille books, but they
>>> generally fit on one or two shelves on a typical shelving unit. I
>>> think it depends on what equipment you will actually be bringing. I
>>> think most college students have a computer and printer in their dorm
>>> room, so if you bring a laptop or netbook (which takes up very little
>>> space), a scanner/printer/copier (same size as a printer and works
>>> just as well for scanning), and a Braille Note/Pac Mate (also tiny),
>>> you should be fine. Unless you anticipate getting entire books in
>>> Braille all at once, I don't think the Brailled chapters will take up
>>> much extra space (remember, sighted students have several print books
>>> too). I got my Braille books chapter-by-chapter, so I never had the
>>> whole book in my room at once.
>>>
>>> Finally, if you do decide to go the single room route, make sure
>>> you're being assigned to a typical room on the same floor you would
>>> normally. Residential life once tried to put me in a
>>> wheelchair-accessible room on an all-guys' floor, which I suppose may
>>> appeal to some women, but would have made social interaction very
>>> awkward, to say the least. Use the communal bathrooms if your hall has
>>> them and keep your door open and go to floor/dorm events if you want
>>> to get to know your dormmates and be part of the group.
>>>
>>> Arielle
>>>
>>> On 4/24/10, Beth <thebluesisloose at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> I wouldn't recommend a single room.  I was put in one and in a remote
>>>> location, so watch where you live dorm wise.  It's hard for me to walk
>>>> everywhere and mobility has been a huge concern, so I'm med dropping
>>>> three of my classes.  It's really hard on me because if I need
>>>> something done and my computer freezes up, and I have Windows
>>>> Vista/Pista (don't ask), I have to knock on someone's door and they
>>>> usually help, but I've gotten people who aren't knowledgeable about
>>>> PC's.  So I have to be careful and I'd recommend a roommate until you
>>>> figure things out.
>>>> Beth
>>>>
>>>> On 4/24/10, Chelsea Cook <astrochem119 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> Hello NABSters,
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I will be starting college next fall. Likewise, I've been very busy
>>>>> getting everything worked out! Something brought up: It was suggested
>>>>> by a few blind friends that I try and obtain a single room (I will
>>>>> have many computers and a lot of Braille for my physics major.) I've
>>>>> shared a room before and totally intend to participate in dorm life.
>>>>> What do you guys think? From a practical standpoint, it seems like an
>>>>> enticing idea; just want a second opinion.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>> Chelsea
>>>>> --
>>>>> "I ask you to look both ways.  For the road to a knowledge of the
>>>>> stars leads through the atom; and important knowledge of the atom has
>>>>> been reached through
>>>>> the stars."
>>>>> Sir Arthur Eddington, British astrophysicist (1882-1944), Stars and
>>>>> Atoms (1928), Lecture 1
>>>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Arielle Silverman
>>> President, National Association of Blind Students
>>> Phone:  602-502-2255
>>> Email:
>>> nabs.president at gmail.com
>>> Website:
>>> www.nabslink.org
>>>
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-- 
Mary Fernandez
Emory University 2012
P.O. Box 123056
Atlanta Ga.
30322
Phone: 732-857-7004
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that
greatness is never a given. It must be earned.
President Barack Obama