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SEBASTIAN HOLT AND JULIA EVERSMANN THE DAILY ILLINI

UI updates COVID-19 guidelines

By Lika Lezhava News Editor

The University sent out a Massmail on Jan. 5 that detailed updates to existing COVID-19 guidelines.

The first major new update is vaccine requirements. The University is no longer requiring the COVID-19 primary vaccine for students and staff, and those without the vaccine are no longer required to be regularly tested.

Hannah Chen, junior in LAS, said she doesn’t feel completely safe with the removal of the vaccine requirement.

“I just feel a little unsafe if I decided to go out with my friends on the weekends because you don’t know where people have been,” Chen said.

Although still encouraged, the University will continue to no longer require students and staff to wear masks until further notice. As stated in

THE DAILY ILLINI

1001 S. Wright St. Champaign, IL 61820 (217) 337-8300

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On Jan. 5, the University announced the removal of the COVID-19 vaccine and testing requirement.

the Massmail, “masking requirements may vary and could change as deemed necessary.”

“I tend to wear masks pretty often,” Chen said. “Some people still choose to wear masks because we all understand that (COVID-19) is still active.”

Some students like Grace Anderson, senior in Education, think that the

The Daily Illini is the independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The newspaper is published by the Illini Media Co. The Daily Illini does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of the University of Illinois administration, faculty or students.

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update doesn’t change much.

“Prior to the mandate lift, students were finding their way out of those things if they really wanted to,” Anderson said. “Even when optional, most students are going to do as they feel.”

The number of testing sites on campus will decrease this semester. The Illini Union testing site will permanently close on Feb. 11, and CRCE will continue to operate as normal.

“I don’t think that a lack of testing centers reflects well on the University,” Anderson said. “If students want to be tested and follow guidelines … but are not given the opportunity to do so, this is at the fault of the University.”

Students are encouraged to continue to look after themselves and take all of the right precautions to keep themselves and the ones around them safe.

lezhava3@dailyillini.com

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Corrections: When we make a mistake, we will correct it in this place. We strive for accuracy, so if you see an error, please contact Editor-in-Chief Heather Robinson at (217) 337-8365 or email editor@dailyillini.com.

Champaign shootings drop by half in 2022

By Aidan Sadovi Assistant News Editor

Shooting incidents in Champaign fell 50% in 2022 from 2021, according to the Champaign Police Department statistics released on Jan. 5. This marked the first year-over-year drop in shooting incidents since 2017.

There were 259 recorded shooting incidents in 2021. In 2022, the number plummeted to 129, according to CPD. Police define a shooting incident as “anytime police find evidence that a gun was fired.”

CPD also reported a 47% decrease in homicides, as well as the seizure and recovery of 236 firearms.

Joe Lamberson, CPD spokesperson, said the city is taking a multi-pronged approach to tackling gun violence.

“So, Champaign as a whole is attacking gun violence from multiple angles — not just from a policing standpoint — but also from the perspective of targeting its root causes: income inequality, long-standing trauma … working to ensure that the needs of our residents are met in an attempt to reduce the cycle.”

Lamberson also pointed to both “good police work” and community engagement.

“What we’re chalking it up to is good police work, the fact that we solved eight of the nine homicides we had last year … and leveraging technology by our investigators, but also we’ve been able to reignite our community engagement — getting good witnesses and information to come forward.”

Some of the new technology includes Automated License Plate Readers, which CPD said aided in investigations “including three homicides and in locating 12 stolen vehicles.”

The CPD release also stated that police personnel “committed more than 363 staff hours to attend 81 events in 2022.” These events included community meetings, special events and activities for kids.

“Meaningful, positive connections and building trust during the fun times — those relationships carry forward, and that trust carries forward in times where we need the community to come forward and assist us in investigation,” Lamberson said.

In February of 2022, on the heels of an especially violent 2021 in Champaign, the City Council passed the Community Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint, a “comprehensive strategy to address the root causes of gun violence,” according to the city.

Lamberson said the Blueprint is “allocating funding and resources to a variety of grassroots and local organizations … to ensure that we are holistically approaching the problem of gun violence from multiple angles.”

One organization funded by the 2022 Blueprint is the nonprofit CU Trauma and Resiliency Initiative, or CU TRI. Since its inception in 2019, the organization has been involved in the community violence response, according to CU TRI Program Director Karen Simms.

“We provide a lot of different levels of care … We also are funded by the Blueprint to build a mental health network — we have clinicians who are available to provide support for survivors who’ve been impacted by gun violence, doing a bunch of trauma-specific therapeutic interventions,” Simms said.

In a partnership with Carle Hospital, CU TRI also provides a hospital crisis response for victims, as well as taking referrals for care that doesn’t directly come from the city. CU TRI also works closely with Justice Victim Advocates, which “assists individuals and families navigating the criminal justice system beginning with initial law enforcement contact,” according to the victim advocacy page on the city’s website.

“Yes, there’s been an increased reduction in gun crimes, and we’ve definite-

ly felt that,” Simms said. “We’ve really been — thanks to the funding from the city — really committed to making sure that no survivor doesn’t have someone reach out to them, engage with them, offer some support.”

Simms compared trauma — which she said can stem from systemic, structural and policy issues like lack of opportunity for young people and lack of positive family relationships — to a “wound.”

“So, if I’m in a neighborhood, and I feel like I have to keep myself safe and no one has helped me work on safety and support strategies, and I keep getting re-traumatized or stressed, I’m probably more likely — based on data and science — to engage in violent behavior … So violent trauma begets more violent trauma,” she said.

Simms said a goal of this year is to increase the community’s availability of “trauma-specific strategies” that are “culturally responsive” and that the surrounding community would engage in.

The pandemic has seen successive years of triple-digit numbers for shooting incidents in Champaign. In 2020, the city counted 189 confirmed shooting incidents, up from 100 in 2019. The next year saw another growth, eventually reaching 259.

Of the four prior pre-pandemic years, only 2019 (with 100 incidents) counted a

number of shooting incidents equal to or greater than 100. 2016, 2017 and 2018 saw 76, 61 and 76 shooting incidents, respectively.

Ariston Liu, freshman in DGS, is on Student Patrol at UIUC, which operates mostly around Green Street in Campustown.

Last year’s reduction in shooting incidents was a surprise to Liu. “I would assume after (COVID-19) restrictions were lifted there’d be more violence with everyone coming back outside,” he said.

On Oct. 1, UIPD took over responsibility for the campus from CPD.

Lamberson said there have been times when firearms have been discharged in the campus town area.

“Whenever those situations do arise,” Lamberson said. “We work as a law enforcement community, it’s not just Champaign police, but CPD and UIPD, Urbana, Champaign County.”

Lamberson said there was a homicide on campus during the summer. The person who discharged a firearm and committed the homicide, he said, was under arrest the same day.

Due to his job on student patrol — often walking with students on SafeWalks — Liu says he sees a lot of UIPD.

“I feel very safe having seen their response times,” Liu said.

SEBASTIAN HOLT THE DAILY ILLINI

Campus Raising Cane’s sets late Feb. open date

behind choosing Champaign as the location for these restaurants.

By Cecilia Milmoe Features Editor

Campustown offers a variety of foods and flavors for students to enjoy. Soon, a new restaurant chain will make its way to C-U— two Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers locations.

The first, located at 411 E. Green St. in Champaign, is set to open on Feb. 28, according to Jason Zwerin, vice president of company restaurants for Raising Cane’s. In addition to this location, Zwerin said a second location will be opening in late June, located at 2121 N. Prospect Ave., a former Applebee’s location.

Zwerin said the Green Street location will be focused on traditional dining, while the Prospect Avenue location will feature a drive-thru.

The Green Street location has been in development for “about two years,” according to Zwerin. “It’s been a little while coming, but man, we are almost there.”

Zwerin explained the reasoning

“Every day through our social media platform, we’re constantly asking, ‘Where should we open next?’ … Champaign is one of those places that consistently comes up,” Zwerin said. “So, we’re excited to be there in that community. A lot of people have been asking for this for a long time.”

Zwerin elaborated, saying that historically, the restaurant chain has had “a lot of success” with college communities.

Zwerin added Champaign seemed like a good place to have two locations.

“When we look at Champaign and we look at the amount of opportunities there, two restaurants for us right now is something that we feel is a great idea and we can get in there and do that,” Zwerin said. “So instead of having one there that’s going to generate 100+ jobs, having a second restaurant there and being able to serve more customers and being able to provide more jobs in that community is something we feel really good about.”

Zwerin said the hiring process at the Green Street location has already begun, and they’re “looking for about

100 crew members at each location.”

“I have no doubt that students are excited,” Zwerin said. “We’ll see them turnout in hundreds for opening day and opening week, and it’s just been great, the excitement around it and (people) wanting to be the first to go in there. And, for us, we’ve just had a ton of success being by universities and being able to be a part of that community. So I think it’s gonna be a huge win-win.”

Raising Cane’s is set to open on Feb. 28 at the corner of East Green and South Fi h streets in Campustown.

Zwerin said that Raising Cane’s wants to give students on campus what they want.

“We’ve heard that Champaign is wanting and craving Cane’s,” Zwerin said. “So we’re going to go in and be able to do what we do best and serve hot, fresh chicken finger meals to the community.”

cecilia@dailyillini.com

SIDNEY MALONE THE DAILY ILLINI

New semester, new habits, new work style

By Matt Troher Assistant Features Editor

Many college students have a strange relationship with productivity. A common phrase perpetuated by mental health circles is that ‘your productivity does not define you,’ and yet those who utter that phrase the most will often turn around and measure their days by how many items they checked off their to-do list. There is truth in that phrase, of course, but it’s not that simple.

Many people place value in their work, and thus their academic success. Divorcing oneself from their work ethic is tough work, especially in a culture that prioritizes output and often doesn’t recognize the work of self-care and maintenance.

It can be tough to want to succeed in your studies while also wanting to cultivate a life that doesn’t revolve around measures of productivity. With a new semester about to begin, now’s the time when plenty of students implement new habits and work styles. Here’s some advice on how to work toward this balance:

Achieving academic success

Unfortunately, there is no one-sizefits-all advice for devising a study system that works for you. What works for one student may not work for another — not to mention the inherent differences between studying for an engineering exam and writing a history paper. While there is more to college than getting good grades, the truth of the matter is that for most of us, academics is why we’re here.

The biggest thing is organization. At the end of syllabus week, block out an hour or so to do a deep read of all your syllabi, and make note of each important date, whether that be a quiz, an exam, a project due date or the assigned reading for a class. Compiling this information in one place will eliminate the confusion of having to sift through multiple syllabi as the semester really kicks into gear and due dates start piling up.

Once you know what you have to do and when you have to do it, the hard part is actually getting it done, and with plenty of distraction a tab away or sitting heavy in your pocket, it’s easy to not get a lot of studying done when you’re studying. To circumvent

this, put breaks into your schedule. When it comes to actually doing the work, pacing yourself is important. The Pomodoro Technique recommends 25 minutes of distractionfree work followed by a five-minute break, repeated four times. Another common division is the 52/17 rule, where 52 minutes of deep work are followed by a 17-minute break. The exact time division isn’t important, but pacing yourself and allowing yourself breaks will make getting stuff done all the easier.

Know what you want to do

Having a good semester is more than just being a good student. There’s more to college than just classes, and while aiming to achieve academically is a large part of college success, it’s just one piece of the bigger picture. Guide yourself by figuring out what exactly you want to get out of the semester. Do you want to get better

grades? Do research? Get out of the house more often? Meet new people? Make use of campus resources while you can.

Know your own goals, and devise ways to work toward achieving them. This is basic advice that sits at the back of everyone’s head, but becoming cognizant of it can help with actualizing the abstract. Write it down so you don’t forget.

Start with the big picture: ‘I want to get all A’s in my classes,’ ‘I want to work out more,’ ‘I want to focus on my social life.’ From there, break each piece into small, measurable goals that you can track: ‘I will study for at least three hours a day,’ ‘I will go to the gym three times a week,’ ‘I will join one new RSO.’

There’s no better time to reflect on what it is you want out of the semester than the days leading up to it. Deliberately thinking about what it is you want to do instead of just going through the motions hinting at some vague notion

of “doing better” will help you get a clearer picture.

A bad day is just one bad day

It happens to all of us. We have plans for the day: a monster study session, time with friends, a home-cooked meal. But, without even noticing it, nighttime comes with virtually nothing accomplished. That’s OK.

Even the biggest workaholics will have their off days. When you define yourself by your productivity, it’s easy to let a bad day get you down and impact not only your work but your self-esteem as well.

Let yourself have bad days. Remind yourself that just because one day fell through the cracks, it doesn’t mean that the next day has to follow suit.

Find a way to create a “reset” button for yourself if you can tell the day is getting away from you and you want to shift gears. Sometimes, a cold shower or a walk around the block can be a great way to break up the day and get back on track if you’ve found the first part of your day to be less than ideal.

Think of rest as productivity, if you must

It’s easy to dichotomize your time in terms of what’s productive and what’s not; to measure each hour of nonwork in terms of its opportunity cost. Why would I go to bed an hour earlier if I could use that hour to get ahead in my class, learn a new skill or pick up a side hustle? Why would I cook at home when eating out saves me 45 minutes that I could spend at the library?

If you find yourself falling into these thought patterns, try to recategorize rest as a form of self-maintenance. After all, we’re here to be, and carving out time and space to just exist with no expectations of creating or doing anything will not only help you relax but keep you feeling better in the long run.

You’re not a machine. Rest doesn’t need to be seen as a time to recharge for it to be valuable; it has value in its own right. But, if you structure your life around a notion of productivity, seeing it as a way to build a stronger schedule can be helpful.

A semester is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t wear yourself out at the starting line.

SEBASTIAN HOLT THE DAILY ILLINI

The battle of the sister cities

Champaign County History Museum settles debate between

By Faith Allendorf and Nicole Littlefield Managing Editor for Reporting and Assistant Copy Chief

In Central Illinois, a decades-long battle like no other looms over the cornfields and University buildings. The competition ignites passion within those who are most concerned with its competitors. Peace can only be brought by the results.

The contenders? Champaign-Urbana vs. Urbana-Champaign.

For over 100 years, residents of both Champaign and Urbana have playfully bickered over one important question: Should the sister cities be called Champaign-Urbana or Urbana-Champaign?

To answer this undying question, as well as raise money for the Champaign County History Museum, a few community representatives put together a friendly, community-wide competition that ran during the end of 2022.

The plan was to sell two different T-shirts: one for Champaign-Urbana and one for Urbana-Champaign. Whichever shirt sold the most would determine the winner. The proceeds would go to the county museum.

The competition was the brainchild of Visit Champaign County, an organization that “promotes the community as a destination to visit, live and work,” according to Terri Reifsteck, the vice president of marketing at Visit Champaign County.

Reifsteck said the idea for the contest came up during an event where she and others from Visit Champaign County were discussing the question with new residents.

“We have a line of T-shirts already that we sell that promote the community … that are not Fighting Illini based or University of Illinois based and are just community focused,” Reifsteck said. “We joked that, ‘Oh, we should make a T-shirt about this and make it a contest and add it to our existing line.’”

Visit Champaign County enlisted local artist Ralph Roether to create a design for the T-shirts. To understand the history behind the names, the organization also recruited the

history museum. The mayors of both Champaign and Urbana were involved as well.

TJ Blakeman, president of the museum’s Board of Trustees, also agreed to help after Visit Champaign County reached out.

“I offered to write a historical account of the divide between Champaign and Urbana to accompany the event launch, and in exchange, they would donate a portion of their sales to the History Museum,” Blakeman said in an email. “This was a win-win for us.”

Those who wanted to represent their side of the debate could choose a shirt that had either Champaign or Urbana on top of the other. There is a little badge at the bottom of the shirt that says either “UC” or “CU” on it.

On the design, there is also a reference to a significant component of the debate’s long history: Wright Street. Wright Street serves as “the most wellknown divider between Champaign and Urbana,” according to Reifsteck.

With the design created and the T-shirts ready to go, the light-hearted community competition began. Game on.

Another significant component of the debate — a fact that Team Urbana-Champaign uses to its advantage — is that the University’s official name is the “University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.”

“I think ‘Urbana-Champaign’ is a University creation,” said Deborah Feinen, the mayor of Champaign. “The majority of the University is housed in Urbana, and at some point, they began saying that they were the ‘University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.’”

The University officially began using “Urbana-Champaign” around 1906 when it was petitioned by the Champaign Association of Commerce and citizens from both communities to officially list a location in its name. Although there is no record of the petition going anywhere, the University began using “Urbana-Champaign” shortly after.

But for Feinen, none of that mat-

“Urbana-Champaign”

ters. To her, preferring “ChampaignUrbana” comes naturally since she has spent most of her life in Champaign.

“I’m a townie, and I grew up here,” Feinen said. “I spent my first few years in this community in Urbana, and then I moved to Champaign.”

Reifsteck also said she is part of Team Champaign-Urbana.

“I love both communities equally, but when I explain where I live to people, I typically say Champaign-Urbana,” Reifsteck said.

Of course, Diane Marlin, the mayor of Urbana, is Team Urbana-Champaign.

“We’re small, but we’re mighty,” Marlin said.

At the end of 2022, the competition closed, and the votes were tallied — some of which came from out-of-town University alumni and past residents.

A winner was chosen: 94-82, Urbana.

“I didn’t think we would win this, but we did, and I think it just speaks to help people feel about the community,” Marlin said.

Feinen said she is just happy to be part of a paired community that is able to get together to do things like the competition.

“It was fun rivalry,” Feinen said. “We (Champaign and Urbana) cooperate together, and it was a fun thing to do, but there really isn’t any animosity over either one. We’ll get them next time.”

In total, the competition raised $712, which will be going to the history museum.

“Our museum exists purely through memberships and donations … this truly is a community-led not-for-profit organization,” Blakeman said. “This money will go into our general fund that will help support our historic home, the Cattle Bank, as well as help us operate the museum four days a week.”

Marlin said that as the competition has lasted for decades, the rivalry was all fun and games. In the end, it was about supporting the community.

“I want to assure folks that there is no (official) Champaign-Urbana or Urbana-Champaign name,” Marlin said. “It was just lighthearted competition, and we had fun with it.” faithaa2@dailyillini.com nicolel4@dailyillini.com

‘Champaign-Urbana’ and ‘Urbana-Champaign’

PHOTO COURTESY OF VISIT CHAMPAIGN COUNTY Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin (le ) and Champaign Mayor Deborah Feinen wear the shirts sold in the “Champaign-Urbana” vs.

competition.

Swipe yourself ‘Sylly’ with new dating app

UI startup attempts to solve common campus dating issues

By Jessie Wang Staff Writer

Dating app Sylly, founded by Sathwik Reddy, a University graduate, and Josh Jay James, senior in Business, launched exclusively for University students on Sunday.

Sylly requires a University email to register and hopes to address a key problem in the online dating market — poor match-to-date conversion.

“(Sylly gives) students a time, a place and a person for a date at a local business through something called a swipe session, an event hosted on the app,” Reddy said.

The purpose of the swipe session is to facilitate a date. During these 15 to 20-minute sessions, held at designated times throughout the week, Sylly users swipe through other participants in the session. At the end of the swipe session, the user is given a match to go on a date with one hour afterward. They are also provided suggestions, such as local restaurants, for the date’s location.

The first swipe session, limited to about 100 invited users, will be held on Friday. After the initial test, the founders hope to expand swipe sessions to relevant events such as Valentine’s Day or Homecoming Weekend.

Unlike traditional dating apps, Sylly’s swipe sessions reduce the number of decisions the user has to make.

“(In a regular dating app), users have to figure out … who to talk to first or who to ask out on a date, and that gets very confusing,” Reddy said. “What we do is (give) one match per swipe session.”

The app does so by identifying the socially optimal set of matches — which are created based on mutual interest — between the session’s participants.

Because of James’ marketing efforts to attract talent last fall, Sylly recruited a strong team of engineers, marketers and creatives from all over the world, Reddy said.

“We used that team to build a really well-engineered (product), and there’s very minimal technical debt,” Reddy said. “It’s very scalable. We could launch at any campus

in the United States within a 24-hour notice.”

They plan to slowly add users each day and then expand to a larger audience. Nonetheless, Sylly’s marketing initiatives aim to engage with the

entire campus community.

“We’re setting up ‘talk to me’ tables … to encourage people to sit down and talk to a stranger,” James said. “We have a lot of fun and content planned as well for social media.”

However, the founders are first focused on evaluating the social impact and the value of the app within the University ecosystem.

“We’re focused on first launching within our own community, really aggressively collecting feedback … because our target customer is a college student,” Reddy said. “We wanted to really understand what helps them go outside and meet people.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOSH JAY JAMES

Sylly is a new dating app created by Sathwik Reddy and Josh Jay James. The app launched its first beta release on Sunday.

“We wanted to really understand what helps them go outside and meet people.”

Sathwik Reddy, UI graduate

It takes an expert in respiratory care to help patients breathe easier

By Aaron Anastos Columnist

It’s funny who we trust sometimes. We tend to trust funny people.

The First Amendment is a beautiful thing — but too often, the average American believes that it is being wrecked in the media. If the U.S. got a dollar every time one of its citizens doubted the words of someone behind a news anchor desk, the national debt would evaporate. In the face of such doubt, many Americans turn to an unlikely news source: comedians.

By design, many famous comedians maintain accessible and relatable platforms, now bolstered by social media. The best comedians say what the audience observes, but never dreamt of vocalizing — and in unsure political times like these, general audiences would rather listen to a down-home joker on a stool than a clown behind a podium or news desk.

Before hosting “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Stephen Colbert headed “The Colbert Report,” an Emmy-winning satirical program on which he played a comical caricature

of an inflammatory conservative news anchor. Despite it airing on Comedy Central, 10% of the show’s solid viewership watched it as a valid news source.

Its counterpart, “The Daily Show,” then hosted by satirist Jon Stewart, also racked up massive numbers on Comedy Central. The show’s loose news format that essentially picked apart and ridiculed the news of the day drew in audiences and became a great success — much to the credit of its host, Stewart (and now, the splendid Trevor Noah).

Stewart and Noah made their names as comedians, but positive audience reception elevated them to the status of ironic Walter Cronkites.

As veteran correspondent of “The Daily Show,” John Oliver perhaps has had the most success as a news source outside of major broadcasting networks.

His acclaimed late-night show, “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” has racked up 26 Emmys and boasts one of the highest IMDb ratings of any show.

From the show’s safe harbor on HBO Max, Oliver delivers uncensored and uninhibited monologues from behind his late-night desk that pertain to the most important news stories of the

week, ranging from elections to foreign dictators to prison reform.

Audiences love honesty, and comedians are more than ecstatic to provide it. However, in a world where too many people trust everything they see on social media, comedians have garnered more responsibility than simply delivering their objective political views in a humorous (or often straight-faced) manner.

It is an intriguing trend that those whose job it is to make people laugh have taken up the mantle of deliver-

ing unbiased facts in the public eye. This isn’t unique to our present day — the great Greek satirist, Aristophanes, made his namepoking fun at major figures like Socrates and commenting scathingly on the social issues of the time.

If the founding father of Western philosophy could take a joke, then so can Congress.

Satirists precede the first complete and accessible newspaper by nearly a millennium. Perhaps this is why they are so intrinsically trustworthy to the public. Comedians represent the people in their own eyes, more than any elected official or talking head ever could.

This is not to degrade the hard work of broadcast journalists — only an examination of the fact that the most widely accepted source of unbiased news is someone whose job it is to make us laugh. From Aristophanes to Oliver, comedians have always found political and social shortcomings to criticize, and for better or worse, it’s unlikely they’ll run out of material any time soon.

Aaron is a freshman in DGS. aaronda3@dailyillini.com

SEBASTIAN HOLT THE DAILY ILLINI

TAYLOR JOHNSON

Winona of “Stranger Things”

Chapter in history

Saudi Arabia neighbor

The Grand __ Opry

“Is it worth the risk?”

First month of el año

Forage Kitchen provides wholesome options

By Kylie Corral buzz Editor

New businesses, restaurants and fun places to go are never in short supply, popping up all over town. Forage Kitchen, a restaurant dedicated to serving healthy, vegetarian, vegan and more friendly meal options in Champaign, is one of these places.

Henry Aschauer, founder and president of Forage Kitchen, also said he is president of Forage Kombucha, located in Madison, Wis.

“Similar to Green Street, we have State Street (in Wisconsin) that is very close to campus where most of the students and the faculty and the staff will go for lunch or for dinner,” Aschauer said. “It’s where the majority of the food options kind of are, and (when we) opened our first location, didn’t necessarily know what we were doing but (we) worked a lot of hours in the actual store figuring that out.”

Aschauer added that the storefront opened in Champaign in August of 2020 after the first location was opened in 2015 in Madison, Wis.

“(We’re) continuing to offer really healthy, nutritious but delicious food for our customers … just trying to make it as approachable of a restaurant atmosphere as possible for folks that might not be regular salad consumers,” Aschauer said. “So we don’t want there to be any stuffiness or any pretension. We want to break down any of those barriers and try to make everybody feel welcome coming into the store. Whether that’s for the first time or whether they come in on a daily basis.”

Harry Krigel, a previous general manager at Brew Lab, is currently working at Forage Kitchen. They said that they have been in the food and beverage industry for about 23 years. They also said Forage Kitchen is perfect for the Champaign-Urbana community.

“I feel as far as you know, this community, it’s a real match because with Champaign-Urbana ... people are very thoughtful of what they’re eating and where it came from,” Krigel said.

Forage Kitchen also supports local vendors and farmers in its creation of meals for customers, Aschauer said.

Krigel added that even though there are vegan and vegetarian options, meals can be very flexible for those who prefer less vegetables and more meat.

“Not everybody is vegan ... So we have some amazing chicken where it’s

more nutritious for you.” Krigel said. “It’s bone broth (and) nutrients instead of just like, you know, let’s get chicken breasts just because that’s what everybody wants. It’s all about the flavors and healthy lifestyle here.”

Krigel also said being in such a diverse community is something special to Champaign-Urbana.

“Here it’s such a national snapshot on campus now. We do have our vegans, students, professors (and) people who work at the universities that aren’t professors. We get it all here, and it’s so much fun. It’s never boring.”

Aschauer agreed, saying that at Forage Kitchen they never want to get “preachy” about being vegan and vegetarian, but instead they try to create a menu that is easy to navigate for everyone.

“There’s nothing really like us,” Krigel said. “I really fell in love with this company as far as you know, the ethics and how they take care of their employees. Like I’ve never heard of a place that gives you $20 a month to

go get a gym membership and put it toward some kind of better healthy lifestyle. It’s sincere and genuine.”

Krigel said that same philosophy goes for the customers, mentioning that many of them come to the store on a daily basis.

“This is part of their daily routine, and we have enough options to get creative every single day. So you’re never going to be bored,” Krigel said.

And while Forage Kitchen is frequented by the students and professors of Campustown, it’s not limited to just them.

“So while from an outsider’s perspective, I don’t see any reason why we can’t be welcomed by all different areas of the community, not just the student population,” Aschauer said.

Aschauer also added that everyone at Forage Kitchen is open to constructive criticism and suggestions of what they can add to their menu.

“Try us out. For sure. I am obviously biased, but I haven’t gotten sick of our food yet. And it’s been eight years.

Don’t be afraid of creating your own or asking for modifications or substitutions too. Be open to exploration. They’re great and they’re friendly and they’re open to folks customizing their goals however they see fit,” Aschauer said.

Forage Kitchen also has an app that helps customers know what their options are, lets them schedule when they want to pick up their meals and more.

Both Aschauer and Krigel said they are excited about the expansion of Forage Kitchen to grocery stores and the location that is already in Champaign.

“You know, since starting with Forage, I’ve noticed good groups (of) like maybe six people (who) will all sit together and maybe might have their laptops. You know, it’s like, we have our outlets here so plug your computer in, get your work project done while you’re getting your snack on. It’s definitely awesome,” Krigel said.

JACOB SLABOSZ THE DAILY ILLINI

Forage Kitchen, located on East Green Street, serves healthy, vegetarian and vegan foods to University students. According to Founder and President Henry Aschauer, the restaurant is dedicated to providing food options that are both nutritious and delicious.

KRANNERT CENTER

JANUARY–FEBRUARY

TH JAN 26

7:30pm Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis: Middle East Meditations, featuring Naseer Shamma, oud // Marquee

7:30pm Studiodance 2023 // Dance at Illinois

FRI JAN 27

7:30pm Studiodance 2023 // Dance at Illinois

SAT JAN 28

7:30pm Studiodance 2023 // Dance at Illinois

7:30pm Sinfonia da Camera: Ko Iwasaki Performs Dvořák //Sinfonia da Camera

FRI FEB 03

7:30pm 21st Century Piano Commission Concert // School of Music

SAT FEB 14

7:30pm Dublin Irish Dance: Wings—A Celebration of Irish Dance // Marquee

MON FEB 16

7:30pm Theatre Studies New Works Project: Close // Illinois Theatre

TUE FEB 17

7:30pm Theatre Studies New Works Project: A Dance in the Dark // Illinois Theatre

7:30pm Dance for People with Parkinson’s // Marquee FREE

7:30pm UI Symphony Orchestra // School of Music

WED FEB 18

7:30pm Theatre Studies New Works Project: Valiente // Illinois Theatre

TH FEB 19

3:00pm Aizuri Quartet: The Art of Translation (Cleveland Quartet Award Winner) // Marquee

SAT FEB 21

6:00pm Carnaval! // Lyric Theatre @ Illinois

MON FEB 23

7:30pm The Queen’s Cartoonists // Marquee

7:30pm The Royale, written by Marco Ramirez // Illinois Theatre

TUES FEB 24

7:30pm The Royale, written by Marco Ramirez // Illinois Theatre 7:30pm Illinois Wind Symphony // School of Music

WED FEB 25

10:00am Jabari Dreams of Freedom, written by Nambi E. Kelley // Marquee

7:30pm The Royale, written by Marco Ramirez // Illinois Theatre

TH FEB 26

7:30pm Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine // Marquee