By Casey Schellberg
In February, I accepted a job as a Resident Assistant for Jasper Hall, the only occupied traditional style housing on campus. While I was ecstatic and grateful for the opportunity, I couldn’t hide being worried about using a communal bathroom after two years of living in a suite with a private one. I read several articles about how to survive in a communal bathroom, asked my friends who lived there their freshman year for advice, and got my shower caddy ready to go. This past week I moved-in early for training and here are a few things I have discovered since then while transitioning from a private to communal bathroom.
First things first, you will walk into people while in your towel, and it’s okay. Everyone on the floor uses the same bathroom and does the same thing, so no need to feel embarrassed. If you want to be a little more covered up, invest in a nice robe or a velcro bath wrap to feel more secure. Robe culture is real, and I am here for it!
Keeping with the shower talk, shaving your legs is not an easy task in the communal showers. There is little space to move, no ledges to raise your leg on, and water will wash off all the shaving cream before you get to it. In short, there’s nothing much you can do but to pray that shorts weather doesn’t stay for much longer!
Another big change that I have experienced in the last week has been learning to do what I need and to do it quickly. In suite style, you can spend as long as you want singing, dancing and decompressing in the shower. When you are sharing the shower with 40 other girls, time is a bit more limited. And personally, I do not like being in there longer than I need to.
Along with this, a communal bathroom is not just your bathroom, it’s everyone’s. Thus, it needs to be respected like it. Unfortunately, not everyone realizes this and you will encounter wads of hair and toothpaste leftover in the sinks and showers. The housing staff works super hard to keep the bathrooms clean every morning, so I’ve learned to take advantage of it as soon as they are done before the other residents get to it.
Saving the worst for last; roaches are a real problem. Throughout the past two years, I’ve heard stories and seen a couple pictures of the roaches in Jasper Hall, but never thought of it being a problem…until my first night here. I was entering a stall when a roach came running through the stalls towards me. I made a run for it and sprinted out of the bathroom. Luckily for me, I have a well experienced staff and got some advice on how to get rid of it. While I am told the cockroaches tend to only come out in the first couple of weeks due to the water not running during the summer, I will always keep my eye out for them every time I use the bathroom.
This past week has been interesting to say the least. I miss the suite life and being spoiled with a private bathroom, but I’m also excited to see what this new journey will bring, as long as there are no more roaches of course!