There was only one bed left when Penn State U. President Graham Spanier arrived late at his new home — the top bunk in a Shunk Hall supplemental room.

Spanier’s three-day stay in Shunk Hall marked the sixteenth time Spanier has roomed with freshmen in supplemental housing for the first weekend of the year.

“I do it because it helps me keep my finger on the pulse of student life and trends in the characteristic of college freshmen,” Spanier said.

Roommate Brian Spear-man — who initially thought Spanier’s name appeared on the list of every supplemental room — said Spanier got stuck with the top bunk because beds were given out on a “first come, first served” basis.

Jeff Zlatos, who is also one of the roommates, said Spanier didn’t seem to mind sleeping on the top bunk.

“He made a joke about the fact that he had to take the top bunk, and I said something like, ‘He can handle it for two nights,’ ” Zlatos (freshman-mathematics) said.

Zlatos said he originally looked up Spanier’s name on Facebook because he didn’t know Spanier was the president, but once he found out he was going to room with the president, he was “surprised but confused.”

Spanier said he enjoyed the experience living with his temporary roommates.

“It was wonderful. I had seven really interesting roommates, a really diverse group,” he said. “It was great to see how well they were getting along right from the beginning — I am just so impressed with the new freshmen that we have at Penn State.”

When Spanier first arrived at the dorm room, Zlatos said Spanier introduced himself and asked his temporary roommates questions about where they were from and their majors.

Spearman (freshman-biochemistry) said he wasn’t able to meet Spanier when the president initially arrived because he was out with his family. But when Spearman did meet him, he noticed Spanier’s “firm handshake.”

The first night that Spanier roomed with the freshmen he performed a small magic show for his roommates and some people on the same floor, Zlatos said.

During the show, a bet was made between one of the roommates and Spanier, Zlatos said.

“For Three Card Monte, one of our roommates bet Spanier $10 that [the roommate] would know which one was the ace, and [the roommate] was wrong,” Zlatos said. “Our roommate kept insisting he take the money, but he never did.”

Because of the magic show’s popularity, a larger-scale magic show was held in Pollock Halls the following night. About 60 people attended, Zlatos said.

After the magic show finished at around 1 a.m., Spanier read the newspaper for an hour before going to bed decked out in a Penn State shirt, Zlatos said.

In the morning, Spanier had a little trouble waking up, allowing his alarm to go off for about 25 minutes, Spearman said.

“When he’d wake up, he’d quietly get up and make his bed and leave around 9:30 a.m.,” he said.

Though Spearman said many people have asked him if it was “awkward” to have Spanier as a roommate, he said it was not.

Overall, both Spearman and Zlatos said they thought Spanier was a considerate roommate — he even brought them a housewarming gift of four boxes of Coca-Cola.

“It was nice because now we have extra room and an extra bed,” Zlatos said. “It was cool having him for the weekend.”