At one time, “Full House” was a television show. Now it represents many students’ living situations.

With the semester coming to a close and a new one soon beginning, some students are shopping for a place to live. Moving into a different house or dorm room might also mean getting new roommates.

Two long-standing roommates and a campus expert have some tips for students to avoid roommate conflicts.

Juniors Paul Diedrich and Joel Swanson have lived together since their freshman year when they were randomly paired in the dorms. Diedrich remembers feeling nervous when he called Swanson before the school year began.

“All I was thinking was, ‘I hope he’s not boring,’ ” Diedrich said.

His biggest fear was that they wouldn’t be able to get along and live in the same room together, he said.

Both men said communication was the key to their compatibility.

Jodi Thesing-Ritter, of Student Programming and Activity in Housing and Residence Life, said communication between roommates is essential.

“Keep lines of communication open from the start,” she said. “Don’t wait to talk about things that bother you.”

Once roommates get comfortable with their living situation, there are rules of conduct that should be maintained to live together successfully.

The fall 2002 issue of U25 magazine suggests in the article, “Roommate Rules,” that roommates need to set up an agreement to take care of the basic necessities when sharing a living space.

Roommates need to agree upon how and when the bills are paid, whether the food will be bought collectively or separately, and how to handle the lease if a roommate wishes to move out, stated the article.

It also is necessary to agree upon personal issues. The article suggests discussing things, such as overnight guests, household duties, habits, such as smoking and drinking, noise and telephone messages. These instances are minor details that, if handled incorrectly, have the potential to erupt into major arguments.

Cleanliness is one of the largest complaints with roommates, Thesing-Ritter said.

Housework is something Diedrich and his roommates work on together, he said. Each one has an assigned task, and they go by the rule, “If you cause a mess, clean up the mess.”

“Don’t rely on other people to take care of your business,” he said.

The other complaint Thesing-Ritter hears most often is lifestyle differences. This includes drinking and bringing people back after parties, she said.

It also includes sleeping habits, which is a tricky situation when sharing a room, she said.

“If one roommate is a night owl and the other has all morning classes, something has to be worked out,” Thesing-Ritter said.

This is when roommates need to especially work out a compromise, Thesing-Ritter said.

She suggests that three days a week roommates can stay up late, and the other two days should be lights out early.

Also be aware that living with best friends is a risky business, according to the U25 magazine article.

Best friends, she said, tend to take extra liberties with each other, such as borrowing clothes, jewelry, food and even cars without asking permission.

Old friendships between new roommates can be quickly taxed and permanently damaged, according to the article.

Thesing-Ritter emphasizes that mutual respect is important when friends decide to live together.

Swanson said they have to work to maintain their integrated home life and friendship by keeping the lines of communication open.

“If something is going on, let that person know,” he said. “Also realize that not everything is going to go your way.”

Diedrich agreed.

“Take responsibility for your own actions and let (roommates) do their own thing,” he said. “The key is to tolerate, and to be tolerable.”