Bad Roomate

[ken k]

I will echo Tom's replies of the alchohol thing. If you are a music ed major (and want to teach when you graduate) and get in trouble with under age drinking you can forget about getting a state teaching certificate. It ain't going to happen. (at least that is the way it is here in PA) You are over 18 so you are not a juvenile anymore, things will go on your permanent record, period.

And I liked Tom's suggestion of speaking with the head of housing or the Dean. You (or your parents) are paying way too much money for this kind of college experience.

Colllges usually have spare rooms for this very situation. it happens every year. your case is not unique. they will be very helpful. they will also be very interested in the fact that he drinks so much.

Do not be reactive. you must be proactive.
Get Out ASAP

(My wife is a dean so I hear a few stories)
ken k

[Bob Kolada]

Have you ever considered just shutting the door, turning up the music, and beating him up (Futurama reference!)?

[windshieldbug]

(I didn't suggest this) When he's passed out, set him on fire (or when he wakes up tell him he's a viola major)

[THE TUBA]

(I didn't suggest this) When he's passed out, set him on fire (or when he wakes up tell him he's a viola major)

If you build a man a fire, he will be warm for the rest of the day. If you set a man on fire, he will be warm for the rest of his life.

[windshieldbug]

(I didn't suggest this) When he's passed out, set him on fire (or when he wakes up tell him he's a viola major)

If you build a man a fire, he will be warm for the rest of the day. If you set a man on fire, he will be warm for the rest of his life.

If you set a viola on fire, you will be warm for a minute. If you teach a viola to build fires, you've taken care of the 2nd violins, too, and made a number of audiences very happy for an entire concert!

[tubashaman2]

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[Biggs]

often kids from other countries work decent

They're decent workers all right. That's why so many Americans are out of a dorm room.

[tubashaman2]

.

[eupher61]

Soap Socks

In the military this practice is known as a Blanket Party. When someone SERIOUSLY will not get it together the Drills start to punish everyone who has NOT screwed up so that the platoon gets fed up and gives the malcontent "aggressive corrective action" so that they start to pull their own weight in training.

You sneak up and toss a blanket or sheet or long, dress top coat over the head of the malcontent. He is pushed to the ground and beaten with bars of soap in socks. The soap inflicts serious bruises while preventing the vigilantes from getting scuffed knuckles. If this action is reported, no one has any marks of a scuffle on their knuckles.

Brutal? Sure it is. But it is not Boy Scouts. It is the military, where you, even as a musician, are being trained to kill others, so it is actually fairly tame in context. Just remember that when in the military, do what you are told. I have seen blanket parties several times, personally. They were all pretty sad affairs. In each case, the malcontents always straightened up and stopped whatever selfish thing they were doing. However, I personally have never seen this done to someone who was unable to grasp stuff like the kid in the movie (who was really not very smart and had to have his hand held all the time, slowing down the training process and possibly costing someone their life in combat later). I only ever saw or heard of blanket parties happening when someone was willfully doing stuff that was forbidden and that everyone else was getting punished for it. A blanket party is a pretty serious deal and if the participants are caught it can mean charges of assault and battery. It is an offense punishable under Article 15 proceedings in a Court Martial.

Posted for clarity just for those who did not get the "Full Metal Jacket" reference, which was excellent.

Sorry, pachy, but this type of behavior is very much punishable by law. Hazing. It's not tolerated any more.
Someone did that to me, their butts would be in a sling as soon as I could get A) get to a police station and make a report B) I got hold of anyone I knew was involved.
As a balance to Kubrick, remember "A Few Good Men"? The enlisted guys did what they were told, which was illegal. They were punished. Deservedly so. Military life does NOT excuse things like this. At least, it shouldn't. You call that discipline? I call it chicken-s***

DO NOT PHYSICALLY ABUSE ANYONE FOR ANY REASON! Ever. Just don't.

[windshieldbug]

A bad roommate is an assault.

Bad intonation is a crime.

[TubaTodd]

Update??? Did "College Darwinism" rule?

[tubeast]

I have absolutely no idea how American college dorms are run.
My personal knowledge of this matter is restricted to the kind of foolish attempts to control juvenile behavior in one US High School, and the way things were at my fraternity.
I imagine there will be some facilities available for partying, however dull those places or the restrictions to their use may be.
I also assume the general practice will be to "organize" parties at individual´s flats.
From my own experience: people WILL consider a serious questioning of their behavior. As I take it, as soon as one DOES adress a matter of this kind personally, it WILL be taken seriously, as soon as ANY willingness to tolerate "normal" or "moderate" disbehavior is being displayed.

I DO think it´s important to use the time at college or university to try out behavour that is totally banned at home. STRONG and VALID values from home will prevail, while others MAY justifiably be questioned. This is one of the subjects of college education.

If You positively cannot come to an agreement with your roommate in these matters, I´m absolutely positive You won´t be the first person in history to suffer from this situation. There MUST be ways to find other people in the dorm to match both YOUR and YOUR ROOMMATE´S needs.

I never lived in a dorm, but I had to put up with life in a fraternity as well as "Wohngemeinschaften", which is when several college students share one rather large flat, sharing kitchen and bathrooms in the process.