"I don't know her that well at all, but we getalong pretty well and she seems easy-going," Ericasays.
Erica usually speaks in rambling, excitablemonologues, but today she's quiet and concise. Shesays there's a 70 percent chance she will leavethe group, but that there's no point in upsettingher roommates before the decision is final.
"I'll tell them the truth as soon as I'mpositive," she says.
Ironically, in the next room, Brianna is makingthe same silent choice.
Brianna is black, and she could leave to blockwith other black students who share her academicand extracurricular interests. She glances at thedoor to the common room and sighs softly.
"I guess the only person not being honest isme," she says.
Academic goals and ethnicity are two issuesthat are easily entangled with blocking, accordingto Dr. Randolph Catlin, a psychiatrist in UHS'smental health unit.
"The biggest issues of the freshman year haveto do with who you are and what you do," Catlinsays. "This decision of who you want to live withhas a lot to do with both of those questions."
Christopher L. Garcia '95, a proctor inGreenough, says students dealing with thesedifficulties often keep their uncertainty fromtheir roommates.
"The single biggest difficulty in blocking is alack of forthrightness," Garcia says.
Monday, February 23
"There've been big changes. We've got 16 now,"Liz says.
Yesterday afternoon Erica sat her roommatesdown and explained why she was leaving.
"I told them I had to do a lot of studying[and] I had to be home to study," Erica says. "Ithink it definitely caught them by surprise."
Liz and Lily both say they are sad to see hergo, but emotions seem muted. Erica made thisdecision for her own good, but her choice alsomeans that the original group won't have to split.
"I need a more grown-up word for what I'mfeeling," Liz says of her reaction to Erica'sdeparture from the group. "Maybe preconceivednostalgia, looking forward to next year."