How to College: Welcome to camp-Us living

By AJ Slepian /// Staff Writer

Every kid dreams of going to summer camp: days filled with late-night bonfires, s’mores, friendships that last through the year, and scandalous camp dance romances. What you probably didn’t know was that when you signed up for on-campus housing at Lewis & Clark, you simultaneously enrolled in Camp Clarkie. Living in the resident halls can be more like rustic camping than you would imagine. And for those of you that prefer things a little less rugged, there are a few things you can do to make LC feel like home.

Horrific Sinks and Food-Thieves

Similar to camping, there’s not really a cleaning staff that will do all your dishes and throw out moldy food for you. Skyline keeps most of the building clean and dirt/mud-free, but the kitchen is its own monster entirely. It’s pretty easy to get frustrated with hall-mates who never seem to scrape their rotting take-out off of the communal plates and forks. Here are a few tips: if you don’t have a mini-fridge in your room, put your groceries in a brown bag before storing them in the kitchen fridge. Weekend drunkards are less likely to pick through a bag of apples and yogurt to find some pop tarts and all of your stuff is in one place. Also, obtaining a plate or two and keeping it in your room helps ensure you’ll always have something clean to eat off of.

Cramped Close Quarters

Living with a roommate can take some time to get used to. However, being upfront with each other initially can help smooth things over later when the bedroom box starts to feel too small. Going over sleep schedules, music and T.V. policies (headphones in or out) and what can be shared in the room might feel silly, but it makes things pretty clear. Also, RAs have tons of training when it comes to mediating conflict and can help you guys resolve things before the passive-aggressive catfights start.

Stuck in the Bubble

After you’ve settled into your new hall and things seem pretty comfortable, it can be pretty hard to motivate yourself to go anywhere else. This can easily lead to being stuck in your hall bubble. We all get pretty lazy when the rain starts and putting on shoes or even a pair of pants seems like a daunting task. But even just moseying over to the next hall or building and meeting up with people you’ve met from different halls can help you switch it up a bit. Don’t fall prey to the drama and emotional meltdowns that can result from spending every second with your roommate or that boys quad at the end of the hall.