Soci370/suicide and modernity/

Unsatisfied Personal Need with Residential Rules

Durkheim argues that an individual's need should be in consistent with what one can obtain, otherwise, the person may feel discomfortable. Furthermore, everyone's need is bounded by the society, as a form of authority. This theory can be related to the phenomenon that residents who live in UBC housing should obey the housing contract, including not causing loud noise or having overnight guests who stay too long. In reality, residents come from distinct academic, cultural backgrounds and often have different personalities, leading to various levels of frictions or conflicts. Nevertheless, every tenant have the same rules to obey and will be treated equally by UBC housing and the resident advisor no matter how someone wants to satisfy his or herself. Ultimately, those who do not want to do the proper cleaning or make substantial noises feel unfit to the residential culture, and based on Durkheim, their distress may be because they have broken the equilibrium state of need and satisfaction.