Three's Company: How to survive a forced triple

A bare door closes in the hallway of your brand new home. The slam of the door reverberates through the corridor. Just below the peephole of 314, your room for the next eight months, is your name, written on a piece of construction paper cut out like a duck. Above, there's another name. And another.

Congratulations! You are the lucky recipient of a forced triple at Boston College. Give yourself a hearty pat on the back. Navigating your first year at college with two roommates can be difficult at times. No bones about it, sometimes it will seem harder to handle than your parents on prom night. Let The Heights offer you a little advice to survive freshman year.

Case # 1: The Weekend Visitor – A Forced Triple Scenario.

You've just returned from your last class on Friday afternoon. You're feeling good about yourself and the week, and you're looking forward to going out with that special someone from Survey of Bio.

You're the first one back to the room. The other two girls have class for another half hour. As you put your stuff away and start to unwind, the door opens. In walks roomie number two and her friend from UMass.

"I can't believe I forgot to tell you that Steph is coming this weekend." She smiles like it's not a problem at all. "I know I told [roomie number three]."

Meanwhile, the steam is about to come out of your ears, but things can work out. Count to 10 and then ask Steph if she knows your friends from high school who are out at the Zoo with her. The name game always works to lessen the blow of potentially deadly social situations like this one.

P.S. It turns out your best friend from kindergarten is now Steph's roommate and you like this Minuteman better than your roommates. The weekend works out okay.

Case # 2: The Incredible Hulk – An Interpersonal Negotiation Scenario.

After your trip to the Plex for your daily workout, you come home to your quaint (read: 8' x 10') double. It seems that your roommate has also just returned from his physical activity for the day, a rugby practice in the mud. Your room is strewn with his smelly, soaking wet clothes. It looks like that ad for Irish Spring soap, but, alas, there is no soap to be seen. Anywhere.

What to do? Start leaving hints that even Mister Magoo could find. Put a whole bar of soap on his pillow with promises of candy and women, not necessarily in that order. Give him a towel and shower shoes for his birthday with a Hallmark card depicting an elephant in a shower cap. As he opens the card, blast "Splish Splash, I Was Taking a Bath."

Finally, try yelling loudly in your room about your smelly, dirty roommate and drive him to the shower in shame. Just kidding. Don't do that, because it could backfire and you could find yourself waking up to a gym sock in your face and sweaty boxers in your coffee mug.

Case # 3: The Bookworm and the Hawaiian Shirt Guy – A Conflict of Interest Scenario

The year has progressed with difficulty for these two. One prefers the silence of Burns Library's inspiring flying buttresses. The other thinks he saw The Flying Buttresses last week at the Paradise, but he "can't remember." The best solution for these guys is that time-honored code that has held for years. Respect each other in the room and understand that you don't have to be (and probably never will be) friends outside of the room.

If you can get along, get your work done when you want to and listen to "Louie Louie" from time to time, everything will work out in the end. There's always sophomore year.

Gavin McGrath is an editorial assistant of The Heights and a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences.