by C. Mackenzie

Created on: November 24, 2007

You may have met this college staple, or seen him around campus - the person who's attracted to parties like iron filings to a magnet. The creature of Animal House or Old School lore; the so-called party animal. They may not be the life of the party, but the party sure is the life of them. They're the ones who come to class with a bottle of aspirin and bloodshot eyes, and groan every time the professor's microphone squeaks loudly. While the proverbial party animal is just like anybody else - except probably a lot more fun to party around - having one for a roommate can be a trial, especially if you don't share their tastes.

I think it's valuable that I'm approaching this from the 'animal' perspective. In school, my mornings began at the crack of noon and ended as the sun rose, and about half of those hours weren't spent in a clear state of mind (but those hazy details are for another article). Needless to say, there was some lifestyle friction between myself and my ambitious, library-bound pre-med roommate. But if you're looking to keep things a bit quieter in the dorm room, take heart - not only were my roommate and I able to compromise our tastes, but we're also still quite good friends today. Neither of us came out unscathed, but in that year, both of us learned some valuable lessons in diplomacy. From the animal's perspective, I offer you a few tips on how negotiate for some peace and quiet with your roommate.

-Be prepared to compromise

Compromise is the basis of any fruitful negotiation in general. Case in point: what's the opposite of progress? Congress! Pithy political jokes aside, when it comes to virtually any conflicts of interest between yourself and your roommate, being able to talk to and rationalize with your roomie will keep things civil and productive.

Keep in mind that for both of you, each person's priorities (regardless of their legitimacy) are external concerns to the other, which means approaching the topic as though you have an inherent right to a particular lifestyle, which they should learn to adhere themselves to, is only going to exacerbate the problem. The last thing you probably want is to have your roommate party even harder out of spite (imagine a 'cold war' of late night noises versus early morning alarms).

When it comes to late night visitors, parties until the sunrise, thumping bass, and perhaps more illicit forms of recreation, it helps to set some ground rules ('guidelines', but not 'laws') that will preserve your interests as

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