Dear WiseCat,

My roommate recently has not been keeping up with his homework. He has been trying to play catch up, which I am sure is a good thing. However, he has been keeping me up lately. I do not know what to say to my roommate. I am getting concerned because I have a lot of 8:30 a.m. classes. How do I tell my roommate that he might need to reassess his situation?

Sincerely,

Awake at 4 a.m.

Dear Awake at 4 a.m.,

First, I would tell you to count some sheep, turn to the nearest wall and hope that the light in the corner of your eye will soon become a part of your dream instead of the reality that is hovering in your room.

I guess we should revisit roommate etiquette. Now, I understand that you want your sleep. However, let’s question what time you are going to bed. Roommate 101 says that if you go to bed normally on a regular basis before midnight but after 10 p.m., then your roommate should realize this and not have a problem because it is so regular. Hello – roommate contract? Then, of course, there are exceptions if you are sick and go to bed early. That is another story.

But on to the roomie. If he knew that you were a person who goes to bed early, then I really don’t see the problem here. You both decided to live together; I hope he did his research on you beforehand, just like you did on him. A little background check never hurt anybody.

So what to do? First, what time is your roommate staying up until? I’m assuming it’s past 4 a.m., and if that is the case, then that is just too much “light” time. You could be awake to see the sunrise more than one day a week. Although very romantic, that’s very annoying. I think what might be a good idea is to approach your roommate in a non-hostile way – maybe during the time when both of you are “supposed to be awake” would be a good idea. The last thing you want to do is become disgruntled and approach the situation like a mad man.

Ask your roommate what time would be most convenient for him to talk. Go with something that best suits both of you. Now, if this conversation doesn’t work and your compromising solutions are not working for your roommate, I say give the RA a try. He or she is trained to help out in these situations. Again, don’t forget that roommate contract. However, let’s be honest – we hope that you two can work this out on your own.

For the time being, until you approach the situation, I say get one of those cute eye-covers that say “do not wake.” I think that might get the point across quickly and thus expedite the conversation that is looming.