AITA for locking out my roommate?
A college student is frustrated with their roommate repeatedly forgetting her key, especially during finals week when sleep is critical. After staying up multiple nights to unlock the door, they decided to prioritize their rest and lock the door regardless of whether the roommate has her key.
When the roommate forgot her key again and had to call public safety to unlock the door, the student felt justified but is now questioning their stance. Are they wrong for refusing to accommodate their roommate’s forgetfulness, or is their decision reasonable under the circumstances? Read on for the full context.
‘ AITA for locking out my roommate?’
I am a 21 year old college student. I live in a dorm with a 19 year old roommate. This week is finals week, and my roommate has forgotten her key everyday this week. I can not sleep with the door unlocked so Everytime she comes back late I end up staying up. She has forgotten her key multiple time this semester, but this week has been the worst.
Yesterday she came back in the middle of the day and rooted around her side of the room, then she leaves. Around 9pm I decided to go to bed, I check outside the room to see if she is around, because she leaves her key in the room when she’s sitting outside the room. She is not there so I assume that she grabbed her key and went out with freinds. I lock the door and went to sleep.
This morning I find out that she did not grab her key and came back in the middle of the night and called public safety to unlock the door. She has my number she could have called me but didn’t. I have decided to just lock the door even if she doesn’t have her key, so I don’t sacrifice my sleep for her. Am I the a**hole?
Check out how the community responded:
IamIrene − I assume that she grabbed her key. Because this is what responsible people do. They secure their premises before leaving. Basic safety measures. It’s not unreasonable to expect this. You are NTA. It’s on her if she continues to get locked out. I think she probably knows it’s not alright and that’s why she called public safety instead of waking you up.
TherapySpider − NTA. What would you do if you were heading out? Lock the door right? Your roommate needs to learn to bring her keys. The door has a lock for a reason. Use it. You have nothing to do with her key troubles. Do not make it your problem.
pottersquash − NAH. She didn’t bother you with her failure. Thats a good thing.
yayapatwez − You have the right to feel safe. Lock the door.
YearOneTeach − INFO: Is this even an issue? Was she upset with you? I kind of feel like there’s no reason for you to feel any type of way if she didn’t say anything to you about this.
FairyCompetent − NTA. The default position for the door is locked. It’s not your responsibility to even think about whether she has her key. That’s entirely her situation to manage.
ComradeDread − NTA. It’s her responsibility to keep her key with her especially if she plans on coming back beyond the time a normal person could be counted on to be awake.
Miserable_Square_964 − NTA. Have a conversation with her about it though. She’s old enough to try to remember grabbing her key before she leaves. Once in a blue moon if she forgets, that can be excusable and would make the ahole. Since it’s everyday, as I said NTA. She’s gonna learn to remember to grab her key the hard way.
StAlvis − NTA. Keys stay on your person.. Leave the room, keys come with.
FyvLeisure − NTA. If I leave my home without my keys, that’s my problem. Same with your roommate.
Should the student have made an exception during finals week, or does the roommate need to take more responsibility for her own key? How do you think conflicts like this should be handled between roommates? Share your perspective below!