At this time last year, Stephen Lunderman was a resident assistant living by himself in a regular double room in Hoyt Hall. This year, however, he didn't get so lucky.

Lunderman (junior-premedicine) was one of about 140 RAs this year to get paired with a freshman roommate.

But the situation proved to be only temporary; Lunderman's roommate, Kuchanda Dy (freshman-mechanical engineering) received notification yesterday that he will be moving into Simmons Hall, leaving Lunderman with his own room once again.

The Housing Assignment Office insists that the other freshmen living with RAs may get similar news soon, and has been scrambling to get the freshmen that are living with RAs into another room. Kathy Krinks, assistant director of housing, estimated yesterday that now, only about 125 RAs have roommates, and she indicated that the number could decrease even more in the coming week.

"Slowly we're whittling down, identifying spaces and getting them moved," Krinks said, explaining that her department was searching for any vacancies in the residence halls created by students who never showed up to check in.

"I'm hoping by next Wednesday, we'll have identified everyone who is not coming back and get people moved," she added.

Dy has already made friends on the second floor of Hoyt Hall and isn't too happy about the idea of moving.

"I absolutely love Hoyt," Dy said.

Lunderman said he would ask his residents if any of them would prefer to live in Simmons. That way, they could move, and Dy could remain in Hoyt.

Lunderman said it was "bittersweet" that he would once again be getting his own room. Before he found out that Dy would be moving, he said there had been certain challenges fulfilling the roles of both an RA and a roommate. One of the hardest parts of the situation, Lunderman had said, is when he needed to counsel a resident one-on-one and had to ask his roommate to leave the room.

"I feel bad about it, but, at the same time, I'm trying to do my job," Lunderman said last week.

Associate Housing Director Lynn DuBois said that, when relocating students, the department of housing would attempt to keep freshmen living with other freshmen and only relocate students to a room within the same residence area.

The news that Lunderman would have a freshman roommate for at least part of the year did not totally shock him. Near the end of the spring semester, he was told there was a "strong possibility" that he would have a freshman roommate.

"Based on what we knew about the size of the [freshman] class, we told [the RAs] that it was highly likely that if they were in a double room, they would have a roommate in August when they started the year," said Alison Cummings, associate director of residence life.

Cummings added that RAs sign an agreement that states there is a possibility that another student could be assigned to live with them.

"Their specific agreement does not guarantee a single room," Cummings said.