By Santiago Leon Torres
On May 5th, 2025, three days after the last day of classes, students who had submitted a dorm application received an email from housing. This email contained standard information like room lottery slots and deadlines for applications, but most notably, it informed students that all Murray double occupancy dorms would house three people going forward.
Students were shocked by this sudden announcement. Sophomore Estefania Garcia explained her reaction to this new development, “I felt like we were blindsided in the process. I felt like it wasn’t fair [that] there wasn’t enough information,” said Garcia. “We were reaching out, and we weren’t being told anything. We were left in the dark.”
The fact that housing’s announcement came out after classes ended and many students had already chosen their roommate was difficult for some, like sophomore Daniela Galvez, who is also one of Garcia’s roommates, “At first, I decided to choose Murray because I–thought I was going to get more space, and we got notified very last minute that we [were] going to have another roommate, and that kind of stressed me out, because I was looking for more space and now I have two roommates,” Galvez stated, “that wasn’t what I was thinking when I was picking Murray as my dorm.”
In order to make the best of the limited space in Murray dorms, one of the beds has been made into a bunk bed, while the other bed is single. This has the potential to create conflict since the stand-alone bed is generally more desirable.
Garcia was unable to make it to her move-in slot and was left with the top bunk. She shares some of her concerns, “I was really scared to sleep the first night, especially with no railing. They could have at least let us know if they were going to put a bunk in [our room]–because there might be other students who have a fear of heights, who like me, don’t have the option to get first pick.”
For many, the concern is not just about space, but the precarious dynamics that adding a third roommate onto an already established friendship can cause. “It was stressful–because when you have a roommate already, you just have so much anxiety about your new roommate,” Garcia admitted, “how are we going to incorporate this? What about the routine we already had? What do we do if we don’t get along?
This was not a calculated move on Housing’s part to make students uncomfortable. According to Area Manager Beth Vizarreal, “Some changes were made late in the decision of the process. And so, trying to help students through, that was our goal. [We were] trying to respond quickly, trying to make sure that once decisions were made, that it was clear we were helping them with all the changes.”
Vizarreal was sympathetic towards students’ concerns and offered advice for students who may be unhappy or uncomfortable with their current room assignment, “be brave enough to step out and go, okay, I need help. Be patient, because this is new for everyone.”
sleontorres@my.dom.edu
