Didn’t you hear me knocking?

By Hannah Morrison in College, College living, Columns, Lifestyle, Opinion on Nov 30, 2011 5:38 / comments

The opinions represented in this article do not necessarily represent those of the staff of CUIndependent.com nor any of its sponsors.

No one wants to experience the "roommate walk-in," so take some pointers from the CUI's Hannah Morrison on how to avoid it. (CU Independent Illustration/Josh Shettler)

Let’s say you go on a hot date. You look great, and your date is smokin’. The night goes well, and you decide to go back to your room for a little post-date fun. It’s getting hot and heavy in your room. Clothes are on the floor, and your night is about to be made…

And then the door opens.

Nobody is safe from the dreaded roommate walk-in. It doesn’t matter if you live in the dorms, in a house, or in an apartment with your own room. Unless you live alone, the odds of getting caught in the middle of doing the dirty are pretty damn high. Yes, it’s embarrassing. Yes, it makes you want to crawl into a hole. And yes, I understand that this is not a comfortable topic of conversation to have, even for the closest of roommates. But there are ways to handle this blush-inducing situation with grace.

To start, try to avoid the walk-in by making sure that you and your roommate have a system for certain situations. Always inform your roommate of any private time you and your partner plan on having. Get the memo out before anything romantic starts with your significant other.

If your partner is coming over for a movie date, give your roommate a heads up a good few hours before your partner comes over. This gives your roommate time to prepare accordingly.

If you’re going on a date off-campus and your date asks to come back to your place, tell your roommate ASAP. Then, your roommate will know to stay out of the room for a few hours.

But what if you bring your partner back to your place and your roommate isn’t there? Don’t just lock the door and leave it at that. Make sure to still notify your roommate that you have someone in the room with you. To do this, I suggest texting them or leaving them a note on the door — preferably both. Keep in mind that people don’t always check their phones.

Also, try not to leave your roommate locked out of the room for long periods of time. It’s rude and inconvenient for them. If you know that you and your partner want more alone time, plan to have it somewhere else.

Even if you go through all the necessary steps to avoid the walk-in situation, I can’t promise that an embarrassing incident will never happen. If you’ve gone through all the precautions – the warning text, the note on the door – and your roommate still walks in on you and your partner, don’t avoid the topic. You’re going to have to face your roommate eventually. You do live with them, after all.

Apologize for any discomfort and any miscommunication that might have occurred. Figure out how to prevent it from happening next time, and then ask if there’s anything you can do to make it up to them.

My roommate and I have this deal: if one of us leaves the other locked out of the room without warning and for an extended period of time, the locked-out roommate gets pancakes courtesy of the other roommate. It makes light of the situation. Plus, it’s a fun way to bond with each other.

Most importantly, laugh about the mishap. It’s not the end of the world. Sure, a walk-in can be mortifying, but the best thing to do is find the humor in it.

And next time? Put a sock on the door handle.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Hannah Morrison at Hamo7004@colorado.edu