Associated with the proverbial college life is a multitude of risks, challenges, obstacles and dilemmas.

Clearly, those who said this irresponsible post-adolescence thing was easy obviously never had to endure the horrors of determining which dining hall food option to subject their insides to.

They never had to sift through the mass-offerings of lecture classes. They never had to decide morning class or evening class.

They definitely never had to deal with the looming grotesque possibility of your roommate getting down within eye- and earshot of your slumbering body.

Yes, although it may seem trite and a degree inconsequential, the roommate hook-up is a real pitfall of college life.

What do you do when your roommate and his/her significant other decide to disrobe and do the horizontal mambo above you (bunk bed), across the room from you (separated beds) or on the couch?

How do you handle sharing your room with a boyfriend/girlfriend that just up and moves into your space, taking up valuable refrigerator and closet space?

How do you best voice your concerns?

Clearly, it’s obnoxious not have space or privacy in your own room.

However, the burden of tact and responsibility for righting the hookup wrong falls on both the shoulders of the perpetrator and the victim.

If you’re the type that just can’t keep the public displays of affection under control, please, for everyone’s sake, use some common sense and courtesy. If your roommate is studying for a calculus final, and it’s obviously a very, very bad time to interrupt, the choice is simple: don’t. In fact, if your roommate is present, getting intimate with another is pretty much a universal taboo.

Think about the reversal: If you were just trying to relax, maybe watch a movie, maybe get a little studying done, maybe just catch up on some much neglected R.E.M sleep, how would you feel having the sanctity of your personal bubble punctured by an errant condom wrapper or some strange smooching sounds from the darkened corner of the room?

Not pretty good, huh?

Victims of roommate hookup horrors, it’s not just up to the sexually active to remedy the problem here. If you are one who has continual problems with roommate intimacy, you need to make your voice heard…your roommate certainly is.

Remember that simply because you yourself are not inclined toward the same type of behavior as your PDA-friendly roomie, that doesn’t mean your feelings, security, privacy and comfort are any less valid.

Do not be shy in telling your hook-up bunk-dweller that he/she is getting on your nerves and significantly hampering your day-to-day existence.

Set up clear, fair guidelines and rules: No smooching during study time, no foreplay when the room is occupied, no footsie during film hour, etc.

Remember that the room is yours too, and you have every right to feel as comfortable as your roommate clearly does.

At the end of the day, college kids need to realize that sexuality, and the displays thereof, are common occurrences for people of our demographic. The hook-up is an integral part of collegiate life, but this does not mean that there cannot be steps taken to assure that the getting-it-on goes down with any significant hang-ups.