Forced Triple Frustrations
The oversized freshman class has left many students living in forced triples, adding to the stress of being a first year
Instead of checking the MyMarist portal over the summer to find their very first college roommate, three girls opened their accounts and saw two names. Accompanied with the surprise of an extra name, the students found an email explaining that they were placed in a forced triple. But their situation could change if a build-down opportunity presented itself.
On Friday, September 6, almost two weeks after moving into Leo Hall, the girls received an email from their Resident Director offering a build-down. If they took the offer, one of the girls would have to move into an open room down the hall. They were asked to decide as soon as possible, because if they turned it down, the offer would go to someone else.
Looking at this situation, their answer seemed obvious. Why wouldn’t they take the offer?
Yet they didn’t.
“Freshman year is already stressful, you have to go through the process of opening up to your roommate. We got all of that stuff out of the way within the first two days, it was like a sister moment,” roommate Jordan said. “Now we’re at the point where when you give us the option to finally breakdown, it’s great, but nope, none of us want to go through the process of having to do that all over again.”
Roommates Jordan, Victoria and Morgan quickly became best friends, and now have an important decision to make. The girls in the forced triple, currently living on the fourth floor, are frustrated that they weren’t offered the option of moving into a bigger room on their floor. “We like each other, we don’t want to split up, so ideally, if we could get into the room that used to be the study lounge, that would be amazing,” Victoria said.
Dealing with their current situation, the girls have put in a serious effort to make their forced triple work. “Within the first week, I was taking out everything in the closets, organizing it so it was basically like, what’s yours is mine. We all had spare toothbrushes, so they all went in one bin, it’s the only way you could fit,” Victoria explained. To allow for extra space, the beds are organized in an “L” shape, and the girls who sleep on the top bunk climb into bed using their desks since their ladders are inaccessible. They have also set up a lofted bed with two desks beneath it in order to make the furniture fit. Due to the set-up, Victoria and Morgan cannot sit at their desks at the same time.
Living in this cramped space, sacrificing the traditional college experience, these girls are frustrated. Their compensation for living in a forced triple is $1300 for the year, and they do not receive additional priority points for future housing options.
Wanting something to change, the girls are anxious to stick together and move into a bigger space. “It would be so much easier for us to move into the larger room. They put us together and we love each other. If we had more space, we would live perfectly together,” Victoria said