[To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com}
My former Rowan University colleague Prof. Debra Nussbaum wrote in the Sunday, Aug. 19, 2013 The Philadelphia Inquirer ” College campuses have the perfect recipe for a spike in bad manners: Start with young people leaving home for the first time. Move them in with total strangers. Add alcohol (it happens). Then sprinkle in today’s technology and small living quarters.
Here’s the link: http://www.inquirer.com/opinion/20130818_Civility_critical_to_surviving_dormitory_life.html
Says Prof. Nussbaum:
The rules for making peace with roommates are not much different from the basic etiquette that makes life better for everyone. To get you started this fall, try these tips from local students and Rutgers University roommate agreements:
- If you make a mess, clean it up.
- Decide ahead of time what you will share, who will buy what, and when guests are allowed.
- Talk about volume on movies and music, and about your schedules. If you have an 8 a.m. class on Wednesdays or a 6 a.m. practice, let your roommate know.
- Don’t use social media to air your complaints.
- Be honest and talk to your roommate when something bothers you.
- Don’t bring a pet to the apartment without getting your roommate’s permission (yes, this really happened).
- Living with your best friend doesn’t always work out.
[To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com}