I never thought that being a student at the University of Illinois would be such a niche and different experience. While each school has its own unique culture and traditions, there are many things about UIUC that are much different than other schools. From our location, to our social life, to the various traditions that only fellow Illini understand, we definitely have our own style in Champaign, Illinois.
Between my friends back home, family, and visitors, I am often bombarded with a lot of questions about why my school is so different than the rest. Sometimes it feels as though I am constantly trying to defend myself about what makes my school so great. But what I think is great about college is that everyone gets to have an experience that is unique and perfect for them. So while there may be things that are a little different or strange about my school, I wouldn't have it any other way.
So, here I am to answer all the lingering questions you've ever wanted to know about U of I: the good, the bad, and the utterly unusual.
Disclaimer: I am by no means trying to blame my family and friends or make them feel bad through this article. I know they are just genuinely curious and are not trying to judge, and I know the easiest way is for me to explain is to just answer these questions once and for all in the way I know best...a good ole' Odyssey article.
1. What's it like being a bar school?
Being a bar school is a lot of fun, but it also has plenty of downsides. What I love about it is that you have the option of going out every day of the week, but there's no pressure to do so. It's also a lot of fun to get to see all of your friends at once because you're all in the same place. Bar crawls are also a lot of fun, especially when you get out of cover with a wristband and have a fun theme to dress up for. You'll recognize a bar crawl when you see everyone in matching shirts walking down Green Street.
The downside? Well, there's a few. For one thing, cover can get really expensive. Really expensive. And it just sucks that at a frat party there's free alcohol, while you have to pay for your own drinks at the bar. It's also annoying that there aren't may options of places to go. While Lion is fun, it can get kind of repetitive, and Kam's closing temporarily doesn't help the cause. However, I do think that when it reopens along with the other new bars it will rejuvenate my love for being a bar school!
2. So if you don't tailgate...then what's block?
Block is a long-running U of I tradition that has been around for generations. The name comes from how back in the day, fraternities and sororities would purchase "blocks" of tickets for the football games. So they named the reception prior to the games where they'd have tents out in front of the stadium for them to socialize and celebrate the game "block." So yes, block is basically the same thing as a tailgate, just with a different name.
However, unlike most schools, frats aren't the ones hosting tailgates at their own houses. I remember learning once that it's an extensive process to get tailgates registered and everything and setting everything up, and I think fraternities have collectively decided not to do it. Each semester, a sorority and a fraternity pair up and block together. You'll pregame at the house or apartment, and then go to the bars. This was the first weekend I got to block this semester (between having so much work, visiting home, and other various things to do on the weekends), and it was so much fun. Not to mention the sweet victory of beating Wisco making it so much better.
The fact that we don't have traditional tailgates like most schools isn't necessarily because our football team isn't "good", but I also don't think it helps the cause. I would assume that people would be more inclined to want to tailgate and go to games if we had a better-ranked team to cheer on. But whether our team is good or bad doesn't really matter to me and if going to the games was a big thing here, I definitely would do it. Hopefully one day our culture about this can change and maybe we can turn into a ~traditional tailgate school~. For now, though, block will surely suffice.
3. If there's barely any football culture... where's your school spirit?
Look, I'm not going to lie and say that I didn't wish we had big tailgates decked out from head to toe in Illini gear. I've been fortunate enough to go and visit my friends at other schools and the tailgates are a lot of fun. But just because I don't own bandeaus and cheerleader skirts with "Illini" across it doesn't mean that I don't have any school spirit. UIUC actually has a lot of fun traditions that aren't sports-related. From Unofficial to dressing up the Alma Mater for Homecoming and Graduation to Greek Reunion to Quad Day to Happy Hour, we definitely don't need sports to be a spirited school and have a good time.
4. Wait, you don't go out on Friday and Saturday nights?
Like, no, not really. Happy hour (which is going to the bars from about 4-7) is definitely the highlight of the week, but actual events rarely happen later that Friday night. Frat parties are typically Saturday nights too, but they don't happen that often. It's honestly kind of nice though because it gives you all weekend to do work and just chill with friends and be hangover-free. We can party any other day of the week, and the weekends serve as a period of rest, aside from happy hour and block. I don't make the rules, okay?!
5. You go out on Mondays?
MNL (Monday Night Lion)> anything else. Mondays are ironically one of the biggest days to go out here at school. You wish this was acceptable at your school.
6. If you live in the cornfields, what is there even to do in Champaign?
Eat! No like, I'm actually dead serious. On campus, there are constantly things to do and even walking around to admire the beautiful architecture and greenery is surely enough to pass the time. We have arboretums, gardens, art museums, concert venues, you name it! But you can even just go to one of our beautiful quads and you'll probably find something to briefly entertain you (you have no idea about the weird things that happen here daily).
Besides all of the fun things to do on campus, the towns of Champaign and Urbana themselves have a lot of fun things to do. Champaign actually has a really cute downtown area with amazing restaurants, cute shops, clubs, and venues. There is even a nearby pumpkin patch with amazing apple cider donuts that makes for a perfect fall day!
Also why not steer into the skid even more and have your formal date events centered around what you guys do best...we LOVE barn dance.
7. Being from Illinois, Isn't going to U of I like doing high school all over again?
GiphyNO. While I was fortunate enough to come to school knowing a good amount of people, our undergraduate population contains over 33,000 students, surely making for a diverse and new experience to meet people. Most of the close friends I've made are people who aren't from my high school. As for the ones who are, our friendships have only been strengthened through coming to college together. Coming from a girl who attended one of the largest high schools in my area with a lot of people attending U of I, I really like the "big campus" vibe and get to see a diverse group of people every day. The odds of seeing people I know are rare, but when it does happen, it makes me appreciate being an Illini all over again.
Yes, we may have a ~different~ way of doing things, and I'm not going to lie, sometimes I do wish some things could be changed. I think you'd be lying if you said that you loved every single thing about where you go to school and wouldn't want to change anything. But hopefully, you are happy where you are and the experiences you have are what is best for you, even if it is different that the norm. I love my being and Illini more than anything and wouldn't trade the experiences I have made here for the world.
