A week before I went to school, an older friend told me this story about a girl whose roommate had psychological problems and “refused to take her medicine.” Not soon after, the “psycho” roommate tried to stab her with a pair of scissors. Needless to say, this scared the crap out of me.

With roommates, it’s the luck of the draw, and I drew a pretty high card. My roommate does not steal my things, snoop through my personal items or comment on my huge pile of laundry. Having a roommate that I can live with makes the whole year go by just that much smoother. Still, many students are not this lucky.

A girl in one of my classes (we’ll call her Alice) has a new “psycho” roommate story for me almost every time that I see her. At first the roommate was merely depressed; now she is suicidal. In fact, the Department of Public Safety has been in Alice’s room until the wee hours of the morning trying to help, and Alice was not allowed to be in the room until DPS was through.

I feel really sorry for the roommate because she has all of these problems, but I also feel sorry for Alice. The roommate’s outbursts are getting in the way of her homework, her sleep and her social life. What is a girl to do?

Since the situation is not going to remedy itself, I asked Alice if she had spoken to her Resident Assistant about what options, if any, she had. Her response: “I was basically told that I would have to move out.”

SHE has to move out — how wrong is that? Is Alice the one creating the problems? How can this be an adequate solution when another person could move in and experience the same problems?

Considering the money that it costs to live in the dorms, the lack of options is outrageous. I spoke to Christopher Barker, the Wilson Tower’s hall director, to see what he thought of the situation. Barker said that if the student is a threat to himself or someone else, then that individual would be removed from the residence hall.

Hmm, they would, huh? Well, Alice has talked to her RA, DPS knows of the situation — what else needs to occur? Do huge flashing red lights need to go off before someone realizes that this is a problem?

We have to remember how hard it is to get adjusted to this new lifestyle. We are practically living in a cell, the homework is an unending flow, the food is suspicious and we have to get used to living side-by-side with a stranger. What an ordeal!

Now imagine, just for a second, that your roommate had psychological problems. Now your life is pure hell.

To remedy this situation, here is what I propose: have an unbiased group of about three people talk to both of the roommates. Then, after going over the evidence, decide who is creating the problem and make THEM move. Not the roommate who was thrown into this situation. Now, doesn’t that make a little more sense?

Also, if one roommate has serious problems, then the school needs to provide that person with professional help — that way he will not be able to hurt himself or someone else.

There should be as much emphasis put on living situations as there is on underage drinking. It is just that important because a bad roommate can affect the well-being of other students.

I can remember, quite clearly, a time when I had three roommates who I absolutely hated. I was at a conference in Washington, D.C., and it was the longest week of my life. I even took a friend with me, but we couldn’t room together. I got stuck in what I now call the “nudist” colony. All roommates but one preferred to walk around in their underwear or nothing at all.

Now, walking around in your underwear is OK in the locker room, but not in a hotel room with a bunch of strangers. I cannot even express how uncomfortable this made me. I couldn’t imagine what an entire year of nudity would have been like.

Roommates are a touchy issue for many people. College is supposed to be the greatest time of our lives, not the absolute worst. It is the job of the residence hall directors to provide a safe environment for each and every student.

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Jessica Bittner is a freshman in journalism and mass communication from Council Bluffs.