Many college students are involved in long distance relationships, some of which are carried over from high school relationships, summer camps and summer jobs.

Often times, people involved in such relationships complain about how difficult and challenging they can be.

Effective communication is said to be the main key to making a relationship work, it is said to be even more necessary in a long distance relationship. Parties involved feel that communication makes things easier and make the relationship work.

“We talk on the phone everyday and we try to see each other at least every weekend,” sophomore Matt Siefken said. Siefken also said that his nine-month relationship with his girlfriend is working out fine with no major difficulties experienced.

Relationships and college can turn into a full-time balancing act.

“It actually makes me work harder. I tend to do all my homework before I go see her,” said Siefken.

Although things may appear easy for Siefken, they seem to be challenging and difficult for sophomore Ashley Bugler.

“It is very hard for me to deal with it because he is in Delaware and I’d really like to have him closer to me,” said Bugler.

Sometimes when involved in such relationships couples have to make sacrifices in order for things to work out. Some couples tend to socialize less and spend their free time talking on the phone.

“My roommates can tell you, I am constantly on the phone with him,” said Bugler. “My phone bill is always very high because of the calls I make to him. If I was single, I’d be out partying like normal college students.”

Some of these relationships start out as friendships before they develop into something more, therefore some people say that they would have been more skeptical if they knew it was going to be hard to deal with.

“We were really good friends and I didn’t even know it was going there. Yes I would have been a bit skeptical if I knew we were going to mean so much more to each other,” said Bugler.

Another factor that is necessary to keep the fire burning in long distance relationships is trust.

“We make it work because we love and trust each other,” said Siefken.

Some relationships have failed due to partners not being able to withstand the distance separating them.

Some say that distance makes the heart grow fonder and that philosophy seems to be put to a test when it comes to long distance relationships. Bugler and her boyfriend have had enough of the distance between them.

“He is planning on moving out here because we both cannot take it any more. I haven’t seen him since Christmas and that is a long time,” said Bugler.