The Daily Illini: Housing Guide 2022

Student charged in Scott Hall vandalism

By Aidan Sadovi and Fiza Dahra News Staff

An ordinary-looking Scott Hall dor mitory hallway contains a destruc tive scene that appeared just a week ago — one of torn out exit signs, live wires, blacked-out lights, missing fire extinguishers and ripped out security cameras.

One Scott Hall resident said the aftermath was “fucking chaos.”

“Live wires hanging out of the ceil ing … it was ridiculous — lights (were) knocked out,” the resident said, adding that the lights on the third floor were out until almost 3 p.m. on Thursday.

According to the University of Illi nois Police Department, between 5 and 6 a.m. on Sept. 15, William Turk, a Scott Hall resident and University freshman, allegedly tore out 23 exit signs from the

A new exit sign is added into Scott Hall following the vandalism on Sept. 15.

Scott Hall dormitory, damaging ceiling tiles and revealing inner wiring. Post ers, name tags on doors and two secu rity cameras were also ripped down throughout the dorm.

Turk was charged with criminal

damage to government supported prop erty and is said to have destroyed up to $10,000 worth of property, according to court records.

At his hearing on Sept. 16, Turk was released on his own recognizance and was ordered to “refrain from using intoxicating liquor or illegal drugs” as part of his release conditions. He is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 19.

asadovi2@dailyillini.com fdahra2@dailyillini.com

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FIZA DAHRA THE DAILY ILLINI

Far from home: Homesickness six weeks in

Coping mechanisms, keeping in touch with family help transition

By Cecilia Milmoe Features Editor

Going into the sixth week of the semester, most students have been living on campus for just over a month now. For many, this newfound independence is exciting, but many have also come face to face with something worse: homesickness.

For many new undergrads, this is the longest they’ve been away from their home and their family. While students can always call their fami lies or go home to see them for the weekend, the fact remains that from now on, they’re out on their own, which can be a scary and overwhelm ing thing.

Several students experiencing homesickness explained how they’re feeling and, most importantly, how they’re coping with it.

Asif Ali, a graduate student studying bioinformatics

“I’m from a different country, so it kind of hit hard, but only after the first three weeks. The first few were like the honeymoon phase, every thing is new, everything is very endearing, and I was into being in a new place. But I think being away from my family and friends, for such an extended amount of time, I’m really missing them. But not only that, the places I used to live in — I’m missing those.

“I usually never listen to songs from my own language when I was back home, but as soon as I got here, I’m just craving speaking my native language. I do call my family a lot, I get to speak in my native language whenever I talk to them — that real ly helps. I think being in touch with your family and friends back home is like a huge thing. That really helps with homesickness.”

Marileslie Galindo, junior in LAS

“I feel like because of the pan

demic, I became very family ori ented. For two years, I was with my family the whole time. So, I kind of got used to that environment of being around my family the whole time, even though beforehand, I was always with them. So, I very much miss my family and the city because I could explore more over there than over here where I’m very limited to what I can do.

“Almost every other weekend, I go home. So, I leave usually on Fridays, and then I’ll come back on Mondays. Almost every weekend, I go home to visit my family. And when I can’t, I usually try to occupy myself with like doing chores, doing cleaning, watching TV or just trying to get it off my mind that I miss my house and my family.”

Olivia Merrell, freshman in ACES

“I was very close with my family, and I also come from a small town. So, coming to a large campus where I know absolutely no one has defi nitely been an adjustment for me. I do miss my family, but it also feels like this great opportunity to meet new people here. But doing so has been hard because, again, coming from such a small town, you’re kind of forced back to square one in those relationships.

“I’ve been trying to kind of just form those new bonds here. So I’ve been attending RSO meetings, trying to attend events that are happening in my hall. My roommate and I met our next door neighbors and we actu ally made slime with them.”

Morgan Pullara, senior in LAS

“I have a pretty tight-knit family — we’re all very close. I say that I’m honestly experiencing (homesickness) right now. I really haven’t been home in almost two months, which is probably like the longest I really haven’t seen my family in I don’t even know how long. So yeah, I definitely still do now as a senior.

“My best advice for homesickness freshman year is you need to stay at school as long as possible … I just feel like you need to set yourself a goal and to stay there for like, half the semester, a month or two, something more longterm so you can actually get used to it before just seeing them and then getting ripped away from them again.”

cecilia@dailyillini.com

RILEY THOMAS THE DAILY ILLINI

UI Housing adjusts to record enrollment

By Matt Troher Assistant Features Editor

The University made headlines in 2021 for accepting its largest freshman class in University history, with 8,303 new students headed its way. Universi ty enrollment broke 50,000 for the first time in fall 2019 and has stayed above ever since.

The University also made headlines this time last year when stresses from the COVID-19 pandemic led Univer sity Housing to convert lounges into temporary dorms. The record number of incoming freshmen also coincided with a large number of students opting to return to campus housing following a year of remote instruction.

The number of students on cam pus, both new and returning, has been increasing year after year, raising con cerns about whether or not University Housing has enough living space for every accepted student.

Every first-year undergraduate stu dent, including first-year transfer stu dents coming to the University with less than 30 credit hours, must live in Uni versity Housing to fulfill their residency requirement. In addition to University Housing, students can live in one of the University’s 13 Private Certified Hous ing options to fulfill the requirement.

According to Mari Anne Brocker Curry, director of housing informa tion & marketing for University Hous ing, University Housing has a maxi mum capacity of roughly 9,400 spaces, plus an additional 2,900 spaces in Pri vate Certified Housing. These roughly 12,300 spaces provide ample space for incoming freshmen, plus returning stu dents who don’t wish to begin off-cam pus living yet.

Curry said that University Housing is currently well equipped to handle increasing numbers of students.

“(We have) no plans to expand/ increase capacity in the immediate future,” Curry said. “We value the diversity and support provided through communities that have a mixture of new and continuing students. In gen eral, our capacity is configured to have enough space for both new and return ing students.”

The exact number of students in each incoming freshman class varies from year to year. This year’s incoming class saw a slight decrease from the record high in 2021, with 7,957 freshmen com ing to campus for the fall 2022 semes ter. Despite some single year-to-year decreases in admitted students, the

freshman class has been increasing on the whole throughout recent history.

In 2014, 6,937 freshmen made up the incoming class — over a thousand students less than this year’s class. 20 years earlier, in 1994, only 5,690 students made their way to campus. At current rates, it would take until 2076 for the incoming freshman class to be too large to fit into University Housing.

Dan Mann, associate provost for Enrollment Management, noted that there is no hard-set upper limit for the number of students admitted into a giv en class. Instead, enrollment targets are set after thorough discussions with administrators across campus.

“Representatives from Undergradu ate Admissions and the colleges meet each year to discuss enrollment tar gets for the next freshmen class,” Mann said. “Enrollment targets are normally determined based on current enroll ment levels, available resources, market demand and plans for future program changes. After these conversations, rec ommended enrollment targets are pre

pared and sent to the provost to review and approve.”

One challenge any college admis sions team faces is the yield rate. The yield rate is the number of students who accept their admission over the number of students offered admission. While an admissions team can control the num ber of students they accept, they can not control how many of those students accept their offer of admission and end up enrolling.

While the University does not make their yield rate public, other colleges and universities have run into hous ing problems when their yield rate was higher than expected. A situation like this at Purdue made headlines in 2018 for dismal pictures of makeshift dorms. Taken to its extreme, a higher than expected yield rate can result in colleges rescinding offers of admission, like UC Irvine did in 2017.

Some students suggest that University Housing is far from having a shortage of living spaces. Mike Liu, a graduate student studying aerospace engineer ing, said that even though he was late

to apply to University Housing, he was able to secure a spot with no problem.

“I signed the housing contract pretty late and still got a single room, and they put me in another room on the same floor for summer housing because I arrived on campus too early,” Liu said. “So (it was) pretty smooth to me at least.”

Liu, who is also a first-year interna tional student, said housing options were limited at his previous universities and he was surprised that there were still campus housing options available when he signed the contract in early July.

Having space to accommodate not just freshmen and returning students in University Housing remains a top priority for Curry and University Hous ing. According to Curry, utilizing Uni versity Housing for more than a year often correlates with academic success.

“Students who live in certified hous ing for two or more years are more likely to graduate and graduate in four years than a student who moves out after only one year,” Curry said.

SEBASTIAN HOLT THE DAILY ILLINI

The do’s and don’ts of college laundry

By Ashleigh Kendrick Staff Writer

Moving into a new college dorm comes with a lot of freedom, but it also entails new responsibilities. One less-enjoyable responsibility is doing laundry.

Doing laundry is no easy task in a communal laundry room, so here are a few rules to make the task less stress ful for both yourself and other students:

1. Don’t use too much laundry deter gent — no one wants to deal with a sudsy, out-of-commission washer. For reference, use one detergent pod for a small load and two for a large load.

2. Don’t take up too many washers or dryers. There are other people who are also trying to do laundry. Stick to using one or two washers and dryers — one for dark clothes and one for light clothes.

3. Bring your own detergent. Most laundry rooms in the dorms don’t pro vide them, and you don’t want to have to trek all the way back to your room to grab detergent when you realize you need your own.

4. Don’t overload the washers. It can

mess up the speed of the spin cycle and permanently damage the machine’s drum.

5. Try to complete your laundry within a reasonable time frame so you don’t take up space that others could be using. No one likes a resident who leaves their clothes in the washer or dryer for

hours, leaving limited machines avail able. If you leave your clothes too long, you run the risk of becoming the victim of laundry theft. Set a timer —wash ers and dryers in the dorm run for 30 minutes and up to an hour and a half, respectively.

6. After using the dryer, make sure to

clean the lint trap. Too much lint in the lint trap can make it harder for clothes to dry and create a fire hazard. Use your hand or take a dryer sheet to remove the lint.

7. Speaking of dryer sheets, throw them away after they have served their purpose. Don’t leave them in the dryer or on the floor for someone else to deal with. Clean up after yourself.

8. Refrain from touching or mov ing other resident’s items. If some one’s clothes have been in the laundry room for an extended period of time, inform your resident adviser or resi dent director and allow them to handle the situation.

9. Finally, don’t steal other patrons’ belongings. No one likes a thief.

By following these rules in the laun dry room, you can ensure a smooth and peaceful laundry process for all resi dents in the unit. Now that the washing and drying process is done, the only thing to worry about is folding the fresh laundry and putting it away — but for now, it can sit on the designated laun dry chair.

akend2@dailyillini.com

JACOB SLABOSZ THE DAILY ILLINI

Mahi Patel, freshman in LAS, does her laundry in Hopkins Hall on Saturday.

Life away from home allows independence

By Yuzhu Liu Assistant Features Editor

Caleigh Ellis first moved to campus a month ago. Unlike many students who were sad about leaving home for college, Ellis, freshman in Education, said she had been waiting for this moment for so long and was “incred ibly relieved.”

Growing up under heavy family pres sure, Ellis said she always expected to go to college and looked at it as an escape from her depressing life back then.

“Being out here is one of the best things that’s happened to me in such a long time,” Ellis said. “It helps me not feel like being back home (which) makes me feel suffocated in a way.”

Carrie Finkill, an embedded coun selor from University Housing, said students trying to move forward from traumatic childhoods and dysfunction al homes are usually underrepresent ed. Finkill said that as these students attend college and leave their nuclear culture, they start to evolve their old worldviews and gain more autonomy.

“Your world gets a whole lot bigger because you’re exposed to so many dif ferent things as a student in college,” Finkill said. “So all of a sudden, all these things are opening up, and all these ideas that seemed very solid one way begin to change.”

Before college, Ellis was living with a foster family, where she had to share a room with two others. Ellis said some extended family members didn’t like her and her friends that stayed. She recalled one day coming home from a friend’s birthday and seeing the room full of trash, the closet ransacked and her things thrown everywhere.

Now living in her dorm, Ellis said it is great to have a place to herself where no one can step in without her permission.

Ellis said she feels at peace when doing housework that reminds her she owns the space, whether it’s putting up clothes, running an essential oil diffus er or decorating the room with posters and tapestries. Ellis said an organiza tional structure helps with her mental health and recommends students keep a relaxing routine.

Micheala Burrows, senior in LAS, echoed Ellis’ experience. Burrows said she almost never left the small area she was brought up in. She went to a small, Christian high school with a graduating class of 20 students, lived three miles outside town in the woods with no car to travel away and stayed at the same

address for 18 years.

With an unsafe, traumatic family life, Burrows said her home “sucked the life out” of her, and she knew she needed to move away when going to college.

“I needed to get out because I didn’t feel safe, I didn’t feel happy and I didn’t feel like I was meant to be there,” Bur rows said. “I didn’t realize until I real ly went away from my town that it was really ignorant and very blinding.”

When moving to the University, Bur rows saw the numerous opportunities Campustown had to offer, such as jobs, scholarships and student loans. She learned to gather life resources and pay bills alone and was amazed by an environment with countless restau

rants, study spaces, social clubs and unlimited Wi-Fi access, which Burrows didn’t have back in her hometown.

“These might be basic things, but especially for someone coming from a really small location, having all these things suddenly at my disposal was really life-changing,” Burrows said.

Burrows said she loves the vast diver sity on campus. Surrounded by peo ple from around the world, she enjoys learning about different cultures and backgrounds, which she didn’t have a chance to do in a rural area.

“That’s something that’s very, very important for me as a humanities major — I love talking to people about how they observed the world,” Burrows said. “This (campus) is like a tight-knit community that I don’t think I’ll ever quite forget.”

However, Finkill said the sudden expo sure can result in anxiety in students first coming into the University, espe cially for those who have no one to help prepare them in a dysfunctional home.

Burrows said she experienced that anxiety in her freshman year when she had to navigate the campus alone and taught herself everything others

AMY SANCHEZ THE DAILY ILLINI

learned from their parents. However, she said she soon used that fear to push herself to embrace who she was.

“That grueling process of change is really overwhelming, but at the end of it, you come up so much better,” Bur rows said. “Being anxious is normal, and it’s worth it.”

Burrows said it is hard for new stu dents to find their place on campus. She encouraged students to embrace the discomfort, reach out to people and explore the campus instead of sitting in a chair thinking about how lonely they are.

Finkill said University Housing consistently provides mental health servic es to students, including regular gath erings with well-trained residential advisors, guest talks on conflict reso lution and Finkill herself as an on-site counselor at ISR — where she closely supports student residents.

“I do think housing does a good job of offering the information,” Finkill said. “The other part of it, of course, is you have to take the information. Every thing is a two-way street.”

‘That grueling process of change is really overwhelming, but at the end of it, you come up so much better.’

Micheala Burrows, senior in LAS

Champaign remains superior to Urbana

TALIA DUFFY ASSISTANT OPINIONS EDITOR

For students at the University of Illinois, it’s easy to forget that Cham paign-Urbana isn’t one condensed semi-urban area. Even within the University community, the two halves of this whole campus have distinct vibes. They carry their own distinct cultures, and one of them is distinctly better than the other.

So let’s talk about Champaign — it’s the one everyone talks about, anyway.

Maybe I’m biased because I’ve lived on the Champaign side of campus for two years, but I think that puts me in the best position to talk about its great ness. Besides the nationally ranked aca demics, all of the reasons for attend ing the University can be attributed to Champaign.

There’s always so much activity here, making it the perfect town for young adult college students. Late into the night, you’ll still see groups of people walking down Daniel and John streets

after a long evening of studying togeth er. Most fraternities and sororities are located on the Champaign side of cam pus, so its atmosphere is naturally more social and involved.

On the weekends, this energy becomes almost tangible: It floats through the air, carrying the sound of music from peo ple’s balconies as they get ready to go to their favorite campus bars — all of which are in Champaign, by the way — or meet their friends at social houses and restaurants.

That’s not to say Champaign is always loud and annoying, either. As with most towns, it gets quiet at night, especial ly during the school week. But while Champaign is quiet when it needs to be, Urbana is quiet — no, make that silent — by default. It’s isolated and sleepy, and at night, it feels like the sky swallows every sound. Even during the day, life moves slower in Urbana.

However, even if you prefer nights at home, watching movies and eating Bangkok Thai over partying, the ener getic atmosphere of Champaign contrib utes to the experience. Simply living in Champaign makes you feel included in the campus community.

Freshmen, too, recognize this differ-

ence even before they get to school. The Ikenberry Commons — more commonly known as the Six Pack — are the only set of residence halls in Champaign, and they’re largely considered the best on campus. Spots in the Six Pack are usual ly the first to go during housing sign up.

If freshmen are looking to make friends and have the classic dorm expe rience, Champaign dorms are the way to go. Have you ever met someone glad to be living at FAR? My default response when someone tells me they live there is, “Oh, I’m sorry.”

Again, Urbana is too removed from everything. In contrast, the glowing high-rises and restaurants of Cham paign’s Campustown give it a metro politan feel, so you might forget for a few hours that Champaign is completely surrounded by corn.

In terms of cities, population is pow er. That’s especially true in central Illi nois because of the aforementioned corn thing. Champaign’s population totals about 88,000, which is more than twice the population of Urbana. This makes Champaign the glowing heart of this urban oasis.

Ultimately, Urbana would be an unin teresting spot on the map without its

SYDNEY LAPUT THE DAILY ILLINI Assistant Opinions Editor Talia Duffy argues that Champaign is a better city when it comes to social activities and urban environment.

larger, more contemporary twin city: the amazing, obviously prevailing, far superior Champaign.

Talia is a sophomore in Media. taliagd2@dailyillini.com

OPINIONS

Urbana reigns supreme over Champaign

By Vidhi Patel Columnist

“The University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign.” Urbana, and then Cham paign. Even the person who named the University knows Urbana is the supe rior town to the chaotic and capitalis tic Champaign.

Urbana is quiet and peaceful — the most conducive to learning and a clas sic college life. The Main Quad is one of the biggest players of Urbana, with a concentration of educational build ings and fun bowling nights in the Illi ni Union for your weekends. No one is planning their living situation with the desire to live close to the UI Ice Are na, but everyone wants to be near the Main Quad.

Campus’ most attractive features are also found in Urbana. The nature at the Japan House and architecture of the Bardeen Quadrangle put the littered sidewalks of Green Street to shame. Who would want to risk getting hit by dangerous cars when crossing Green Street when they can frolic through the flowers in campus’ only arboretum, or enjoy the perks of the funds put into the engineering buildings?

Urbana has plenty of classic food spots, like KoFusion and Espresso Royale, which are substantially less crowded than the loud drunk food spots on Green Street. There are also really cute cafes for studying or hanging out with your friends. Caffe Paradiso is one of the prettiest spots on campus, where you can sit and enjoy your coffee and a pastry while surrounded by gorgeous lights and decorations.

Admittedly, Champaign has more food options overall, but Urbana is friendlier to smaller businesses than a row of international fast-food chains. Green Street, with Panda Express, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Target and Dunkin’ Donuts all within two min utes of each other is a model of the worst American stereotypes.

Even in terms of housing, the under graduate dorms are mainly in Urbana with the exception of the Ikenberry Commons. Although the Ikenberry Din ing Hall carries the appeal of Cham paign dorms on its back, the general consensus is that no food can beat the PAR dining hall. Where else will you find stir fry made just for you from meal swipes? Not in Champaign.

Despite the bars being located in

Champaign, Urbana has The Canopy Club, where at least there’s good enter tainment while you’re packed together with hundreds of other people in one sticky room. When did Joe’s Brewery or The Red Lion have Fall Out Boy or Snoop Dogg perform? All Champaign has to offer is illegal alcohol consump tion and corporate regimes.

The high-rises towering over the businesses in Champaign are not near ly as welcoming as the apartments in Urbana. The modernity of buildings such as The Hub or Tower at Third comes at the price of comfort and coziness.

Champaign is just too crowded for anyone to enjoy for long periods of time. Sure, maybe on a Friday night you can walk through the commercial ized streets and find some pretty good boba, but the comfort of Urbana will always be superior.

Although the average student prob ably could not say where Urbana ends and Champaign begins, there is a clear winner in this debate, and it is not Champaign.

Vidhi is a sophomore in LAS. vpate202@dailyillini.com

Columnist Vidhi Patel argues that Urbana surpasses Champaign when it comes to a more quiet and peaceful lifestyle, in addition to having cuter cafes and hang

SYDNEY LAPUT THE DAILY ILLINI

Surprise tours risk tenant safety

Abrupt apartment tours, complicated leases leave students powerless

By The Daily Illini Editorial Board

College students are often warned against being out too late at night and staying vigilant from harm that could be lurking around the corner — but what about the harm they potentially face in their own homes?

Landlords tend to have a bad rep utation in general for being greedy and penny-pinching, but landlords and realty companies in Champaign-Urba na commonly put students in the way of physical danger in the one place they should feel safe — their homes.

The anxiety-inducing scramble to find an apartment for the upcoming leasing term has officially kicked off, which means apartment tours are back in full swing. Though tours are considered socially acceptable during the apartment-hunting process, they can have terrifying safety implica

tions for tenants.

Many apartment tours in C-U con sist of a landlord or realty agent walk ing into an apartment with a prospec tive tenant interested in viewing the unit. This landlord has keys to the residence in the event that it is locked and will come in regardless of if the tenant is home or not.

The tenant can be in a vulnerable situation during these tours, whether it’s sleeping, showering or having valuable belongings out in the open. The prospective tenant, a complete stranger, then has the opportunity to scope out that resident’s living situation.

In the best case scenario, a tenant can feel like their privacy was vio lated, and in the worst case scenario, that resident can be set up for theft or harm in the future.

An adjacent safety issue is mainte nance workers accessing residences under lease clauses that allow them to do so. Workers from third-party companies can access apartments and homes for repairs, and confirm ing their legitimacy is tough if they

come in when a resident is not home.

This also sets residents up for harm from strangers with bad inten tions pretending to be maintenance workers, since tenants may let these strangers in because they think they have to.

The University was faced with one such incident this past March when a student was assaulted in her apart ment by an offender who claimed to be a maintenance worker for Ame ren. This followed a string of occur rences of people claiming to work for Ameren knocking on residents’ doors and asking to see their electric bills.

In the city of Champaign, landlords are allowed to enter a residence at any time, unless limits are explicitly stated in the lease. In Urbana, land lords must provide at least 24 hours’ notice before entering the apart ment unless there is an emergency, as stated in Urbana’s Landlord/Ten ant Ordinance.

In the case of showing the unit to prospective tenants, however, land lords do not have to provide notice before entering the apartment if that

unit is not being leased by the cur rent tenant for the subsequent leas ing term.

Students are always told to read their leases with caution to avoid sign ing something that could put them in harm’s way, but companies should stop including these stipulations in the first place.

Landlords and realty companies know that college students have lim ited legal knowledge, so they think they can get away with breaking these rules. Remember your rights, even if they feel slim. If they are vio lated, a decrease in rent can be nego tiated, or in extreme cases, may pro vide grounds for a lawsuit against the landlord.

If you need legal help, refer to the C-U Tenant Union or Student Legal Services. If you want more gener al information about your rights and responsibilities as a tenant, refer to Off-Campus Community Living, a resource available to students at the University.

opinions@dailyillini.com

Off-campus C-U offers unique experiences

By Kylie Corral Assistant buzz Editor

As a college town, Champaign-Urba na presents many opportunities for stu dents to explore the community, but there are aspects of Campustown that give back the community as well.

Remington Rock, the general manag er of The Literary in downtown Cham paign, said that having C-U so close to campus creates a more collaborative and supportive environment, wheth er that be for students or community members.

“I think they’re very collaborative and very supportive of each other, which is great,” Rock said. “It just kind of leads to double, more potential to work together and do things, so I think that’s awesome.”

She added that people in C-U love to shop and are often very supportive of local C-U businesses and talent. Rock said that this “local love” is often very true and important to the heart of towns like C-U.

“It’s even more of an added bonus when nine months of the year we have tens of thousands of people who are

not from here living here with the school and everything,” she said. “So, I think it’s great. I think it just leads to more opportunity for learning new things, meeting more people and new experiences.”

Although support is well received in C-U, Rock added that it can be hard when a small town suddenly doubles in size during the academic year.

“I think every year, we always have to prepare ourselves for an influx of a lot of new people and people not from here,” Rock said. “It’s in a way a chal lenge, but I think it’s a positive challenge that can just lead to a lot of potential.”

Charlie Harris, member of the events and production team at the Rose Bowl Tavern, said that there’s always been a lot of changes in the 16 years he has lived in Urbana.

“The University and Campustown seem to always be changing — new buildings, new businesses and new people — that seems constant,” Harris said. “I guess campus has grown in that there are new and huge buildings, but the nature of building up and stacking people on top of each other also seems to have moved campus people away from

residential areas.”

Harris added that things have changed for the tavern as well, say ing events have moved from just two shows in a month to almost more than two events a day.

“I love living and working in a uni versity town,” he said. “There’s always new ideas, new people and a diverse col lection of all of it. It’s exciting and bus tling and moving and any idea, hobby (or) indulgence can be entertained but without the hassle of a big city, and then we get to slow down during University breaks.”

Meghan Houlihan, junior in FAA, said she began at the University during the COVID-19 pandemic when everything was mostly online. However, even with C-U nearby, she said she hasn’t had much exposure to it on campus.

“At least in my experience, there hasn’t been like a lot of exposure either way,” Houlihan said. “But, especially on campus, I really only hear about on campus stuff.”

Houlihan also said she wishes that the C-U community was presented more.

“I really like (C-U) personally,” Hou lihan said. “Again, I wish that they did

advertise like on site (C-U) business es and whatnot. I personally do like venturing off campus and like finding new stuff. It’s not like (the University) doesn’t have a lot to offer, because they do, but like there are some things they don’t obviously.”

kyliemc2@readbuzz.com

SYDNEY LAPUT THE DAILY ILLINI

People walk and gather by the local stores and cafes of downtown Champaign on Saturday.

IMPORTANT!

PURCHASE

RENTER’S INSURANCE

Your landlord is not responsible for loss to your property resulting from theft, natural disaster, or any other cause other than landlord’s negligence.

Renter’s insurance should cover replacement costs for personal property loss, the cost of a hotel if displaced from your home, and liability insurance.

HOUSING SEARCH TIPS

• Make a budget.

• Identify your “must have” and “wish list” items.

• Keep your options open: University Housing, Private Certified Housing, apartments, homes, etc.

• Search online and set up appointments to view multiple listings.

• Check websites such as Yelp, Google reviews, or UIUC's Reddit page for peer reviews about the rental company.

• See the EXACT unit you plan to rent … not the model.

READ! READ! READ!

YOUR LEASE

Leases are BINDING legal contracts.

Once you sign it you are responsible for the ENTIRE term.

Before signing the lease, you should …

• read the lease

• negotiate with your landlord adding or deleting clauses for anything that concerns you

• require the landlord to put any promises they have made to you into the lease

• request two copies of the lease — you want to have the landlord's original signature and take a copy with you

• Set up a lease review with OCCL

FOR ADVICE ON … COMMON CONCERNS

Roommates

• Choose roommates based on compatibility … not friendship.

• Complete a roommate agreement to establish expectations.

Sublease

• Get written consent from the landlord.

• Complete a sublease agreement between both the original tenant and the subtenant.

Landlord Concerns

• Give landlord time to rectify the situation.

• Meet with Off-Campus Community Living to identify options.

Security Deposits

• Clean the apartment before moving out.

• Take pictures.

• Change address with post office.

Sleeping where the party is never over

By Willie Cui and Dayae Lee News Editor and Assistant News Editor

It’s a Friday night, and the sun set a while ago. The streets are still full of people, and the traffic has yet to die down. Youngdon Choi, junior in Engineering, lives in an apartment on Green Street near Joe’s Brewery.

“There’s a lot of honking going down Green Street all night, and my room is really close, so I could hear a lot of noise,” Choi said.

Despite the area getting loud at times, Choi said he doesn’t really mind the noise.

“I don’t really care if there’s a lot of noise because I respect people going out and having fun,” Choi said. “I’m a deep sleeper.”

Choi said he and his roommates don’t usually go to bars and he feels indifferent about living close to one.

“I’m not a bar person myself at all,” he said. “To be honest, I don’t really care about proximity to bars.”

Dherya Jalan, sophomore in LAS who lives near Red Lion said living near the bar hasn’t been a problem for him.

“Living next to the bars hasn’t been

a bad experience for me as of yet because the apartment I’m living in is not facing the bars,” he said. “So, I did not hear a single sound.”

Still, Jalan said he knows people “who can hear live music every sin gle day” in their apartments.

“Apartments nearby — you can still hear music at night,” Jalan said. “But no problem for me though.”

Paula Magnuszewski, senior in Engi

Several apartments surround bars such as Red Lion and Joe’s Brewery on Green Street. Many students don’t mind the noise and see the proximity to them as a convenience.

OPINIONS

Luxury apartments reflect societal shift

By Dan Kibler Columnist

If you have been around the Univer sity of Illinois for the past two decades or so, you would notice the environ ment on campus has shifted. Campus has gone from resembling any other prairie town that dots the Corn Belt to a small metropolis that feels like a midwestern Silicon Valley.

A big part of this shift has to be accredited to the massive luxury apart ment buildings that give the University an affluent feel.

If you’ve taken notice of HERE Champaign or The Dean Campus town, you understand this feeling. The apartments are beautiful, with access to stunning views from rooftop loung es and pools making the prices worth shelling out. However, these places serve as insight into very important societal trends.

Luxury apartments work well in a university setting, where the wealthi est students can spend extravagantly to get the best living situation. However, luxury apartments are actually part of a growing trend amongst young people across the nation.

Rather than investing in houses or land like Baby Boomers and Gen X did, Millennials and Gen Z seem inclined to find apartments with amenities, the very same luxury apartments we enjoy here on campus.

The interesting thing to note here is that this is not necessarily due to desire or preference. Most young people still have dreams of one day buying a house to call their own, but are often unable to due to stagnating wages, high hous ing prices and inflation.

It is concerning for many to admit that young people are being locked out of home and land ownership and are therefore blocked from building gen erational wealth and relegated to liv ing in apartments.

There are many theories that specu late on what this could mean for society as a whole, but one such theory discuss es how this could be related to avail able positions in society.

Famed historian Peter Turchin coined this theory as “Elite Overpro duction.” Simply put, elite overproduc tion occurs when society has a speci fied amount of positions for “elites” (think doctors, engineers and law yers) but too many qualified people to fill those positions. Therefore, society becomes hyper competitive and unsta

ble as highly qualified people are stuck in the lower rungs of society because there simply isn’t enough space for everyone on top.

Luxury apartments show a compel ling argument for the legitimacy of this theory, especially as millennials are owning homes tens of percentage points less than any generation this nation has seen in decades.

Having qualified elites stuck at the bottom is not the best for a lot of rea sons. Turchin theorized that the elites that were left out of the system would eventually become radicalized politi cally, growing to resent the system that misled them. He compares it to dead wood in a forest, acting as kindling for a future upheaval that has the potential to become unstoppable.

He theorized that such a concept has played a key role in many his

torical upheavals (the Fall of Rome and the European Wars of Religion, namely) and eerily predicted in 2010 that the U.S. would be entering a sim ilar phase of “elite overproduction” by 2020.

Before stocking up on food and water and preparing for the apocalypse, it should be noted that Turchin himself says that this “elite overproduction” cannot predict exactly how a future upheaval will happen, but merely increases the odds of one.

In the context of Champaign-Urbana, apartments exist not as a replacement for home ownership, but as nice col lege housing for those among us who can afford it. Where there is a demand, there will be a market to meet that demand.

However, as a broad trend, luxury apartments seem to be replacing hous

es for a lot of young people, and the long-term ramifications of that are yet to be seen, with colleges simply being the first taste of it.

We live in an increasingly unstable world, but luckily for us, our campus often gives us a sense of security seem ingly disconnected from the outside world. However, the rapidly changing times still dimly illuminate the corners of our lives.

Are luxury apartments symptomatic of underlying social instability? May be. Nevertheless, it is fascinating how even minuscule details of the average college student’s life, when put in the context of social trends, could shed insight into the future.

Dan is a junior in LAS. dkibler3@dailyillini.com

SYDNEY LAPUT THE DAILY ILLINI

Columnist Dan Kibler argues that the sight of luxury apartments such as HERE Champaign and Hub Champaign Daniel repels students from considering owning a home due to high housing costs.

Students should know rights as tenants

forfeit of deposit,” DeCair said.

By Jonathan Alday Assistant Sports Editor

For University students who choose not to re-sign with Univer sity Housing, the stress of finding a new home in a confusing market can be daunting. Students can miss qual ity defects in the rush of apartment hunting and signing leases, often navigating a lease for the first time.

While these oversights don’t usu ally lead to complicated situations later on, for some, it causes major legal disputes between landlords and tenants.

For many students, a major obsta cle is going through this process alone. Taylor Pinto, sophomore in Business, has heard horror stories about poor living situations caused by bad landlords.

“I don’t know (about) any servic es,” Pinto said. “(I worry about) a bad landlord. You hear about a lot of places not to sign with around here because they’re terrible.”

There are two groups on campus that directly help students navigate these disputes: Off-Campus Com munity Living and Student Legal Services. They are available to any and all students, providing informa tion about leases and tenant protec tions under the law once a contract is signed.

Dana DeCair, a representative from OCCL, noted that students are often under the impression that leas es must be signed quickly.

“The biggest common misconception about the rental process here in Champaign-Urbana is that you need to sign a lease early and quickly,” DeCair said.

The Champaign-Urbana housing market is large for the size of the University. While one of the major selling points of a property is its loca tion relative to campus, the Cham paign-Urbana Mass Transit District still has major networks that extend outside of campus. Longer commutes to campus are still doable and could

be worth losing 10 to 15 minutes in the morning depending on what a stu dent wants for their living situation.

Thomas Betz, an attorney with 37 years worth of experience with SLS, advocates for students to expand their apartment search farther off campus.

“We have a great bus service, so being a few blocks from campus should not determine whether you sign a lease,” Betz said.  “I urge stu dents to not be pressured into sign ing early. It is a landlord tactic that

rarely favors student tenants.”

Due to the complexity of hous ing contracts, it can often take time to understand and process. Asking trusted adults or employees at cam pus resources about their lease is a valuable resource. Most importantly, taking the time to read every single clause can benefit students later on.

“Important things to look for in leases are mold clauses, rules and regulations, sublet fees, cleaning and repairs, eviction and notices, rent increases/automatic renewals and

It’s essential to catch these types of details before signing the lease, as students will be legally obligat ed to follow them once their initials or signature are on it. Judges will assume a student’s signature means they comprehend the lease. “I didn’t know” will not be a convincing argu ment when problems arise. Making sure to follow what’s on the contract is important as it will save money and time later on.

“Leases have become massive doc uments over the past 10 years with lengthy addenda protecting land lords from claims regarding mold, asbestos, bedbugs etc,” Betz said. “No smoking means no smoking, no pets means no pets. Some have claus es that allow them to bring actions outside of Champaign County where (OCCL) cannot practice.”

DeCair said there are certain things to keep in mind when sign ing a lease.

“Do not sign the lease unless you are presented with two, identical cop ies — one for you and one for the landlord, and the landlord (or agent) is signing one copy while you are signing the other,” DeCair said. “You need the landlord’s signature on your copy of the lease. Get all promis es in writing. Oral agreements are not binding when you have a writ ten lease.”

OCCL recommends a few things you should look at when searching:

• Start by setting a budget: rent, utilities, parking, etc

• Understand your roommate situation

• Identify your needs

• Identify your location

• Only look at options that are with in your parameters

• View the exact apartment you may want to rent

There are many more months before the school year ends. Being diligent and being aware of the free resources available to students may stop headaches later on.

“The massive number of pages often thwarts tenants reading much beyond the first few pages,” Betz said. “Tenants need to take the time to read the document when making such a major financial and person al investment. Shop around, shop around, shop around.”

‘Tenants need to take the time to read the document when making such a major financial and personal investment. Shop around, shop around, shop around.’

Thomas Betz, attorney with Student Legal Services

Off-Campus Community Living, Student Legal Resources are two crucial services for those interested in renting

Los Angeles Times Sunday Crossword Puzzle

“PLUSH” BY GARY LARSON & AMY ENSZ

ACROSS

1 Little rascal

6 Crunchy brownie piece

10 Natural bandage

14 Storm relief org.

18 Sierra Nevada lake

19 Connections

20 Skyline obscurer

21 Ruck of “Spin City”

22 Semis followers

23 Dormitory where honor roll students sleep?

26 Name of Davy Crockett’s rifle

28 Enjoy again, as a favorite book

29 Cubbies home

30 __ carte

31 “Fun Factory” clay

35 Tuft of feathers

37 Name of B.B. King’s guitar

41 Actor Mulroney

43 Santa-tracking org.

46 Ingredient for discerning brew masters?

48 Jazz lick

51 Sudoku digit

52 Birdie topper

53 Historical record

54 App symbol

55 Suzuki with 10 MLB Gold Gloves

58 “Yosemite Valley Winter” photographer

62 Do needlework

64 Dietary fiber

65 Forecast

67 Charge for using, as an apartment

70 Apple platform

71 Take care of eggs by sitting on them?

74 New __: cap brand

75 Cream cheese serving

77 Genre revitalized by Britney Spears

78 Thicken, as cream

79 Some year-end lists

81 Calf’s suckling spot

82 Turns way up

84 Stadium level

86 Rivendell inhabitants

88 __ Island

Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Nichols Lewis

90 Tacks on 91 Went platinum?

92 Learns about crops like maize?

98 Lost cause

100 Words on an orange juice container 102 “Way to go, fella!”

103 Dodge

106 Edible part of a pistachio

108 Mystery writer Grafton

109 Many pop-ups

111 Refuse

113 Baggage handler?

117 Cheap toupee?

122 Duel choices

123 Morales of “Ozark”

124 With 112-Down, fish story

125 Song that might prompt a “Brava!”

126 Cast

127 Texter’s “until next time”

128 Turow book set at Harvard

129 Burt’s Bees product

130 Fragrant compound

DOWN

1 Not in bed yet

2 Parker who was the 2020 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year

3 “Pequod” captain

4 Mexican sauce flavored with chocolate

5 Fly, e.g.

6 __ alcohol 7 Jueves, por ejemplo

8 Salon goop

9 Subj. for some citizenship applicants

10 Help for a tight fit

11 “Virgin River” novelist Robyn 12 Tenochtitlan native

13 “Joy Shtick” writer/comedian

14 Terrif

15 Light-up pumps?

16 Classic TV series set in Korea

17 Averse to 22 Farm young 24 Gift tag word 25 Genesis plot 27 Be in a bee 32 Bustle 33 “Okey-doke” 34 OB-GYNs, e.g.

Former Seattle team, familiarly 38 Trap during a winter storm, say 39 False witness 40 Spanish lake 42 Sardine cans 44 “I’ll take that as __” 45 Cub’s home

Ticker 49 Fistfight souvenir 50 Circular 53 Go up 55 Sacred Nile bird 56 Colorful clog

57 Weekly night for leftovers?

59 Shoulder muscle, for short 60 Parting words 61 Ready to be recorded 63 Bit 65 To some degree 66 Sealing stuff 68 Home run run 69 Stallion feed 71 HRH part 72 Lightened (up) 73 Drill, e.g. 76 Bite 78 “Julius Caesar” role 80 Kristoff’s reindeer in “Frozen” 82 Dab at, as lipstick 83 British elevator 84 Graffiti signature 85 Rite answer?

87 Three-time “Modern Family” Emmy nominee 89 Future JDs’ exams 92 Simple shelter

93 Furniture wood 94 Animal that beats its chest 95 Witness 96 Not as flat 97 Russian rejections 99 Govern 101 Smooth engine sound 104 “Likewise” 105 One of the filmmaking Coen brothers 107 Crack squad 109 Turn off the security cameras for, maybe 110 Roomba target 112 See 124-Across 114 Queens, New York, stadium namesake 115 Dazzles 116 Capricorn critter 118 Hodges who managed the Miracle Mets 119 Chemist’s workplace 120 401(k) kin 121 Not a thing

The Siebel Scholars program was founded in 2000 to recognize the most talented graduate students in business, computer science, bioengineering, and energy science. Each year, over 90 outstanding graduate students are selected as Siebel Scholars based on academic excellence and leadership and join an active, lifelong community among an ever-growing group of leaders. We are pleased to recognize this year’s Siebel Scholars.

BIOENGINEERING

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY WHITING SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING Tatsat Banerjee Savannah Est-Witte Justin Lowenthal Zachary J. Schneiderman Xiaoshan Shao

MIT SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

Miguel A. Alcantar Cal Gunnarsson Catherine Henry Bianca Arielle Lepe Jacqueline Valeri

STANFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING Michael Chavez Thomas Lozanoski Erica Schwarz Pranav Vyas Xinzhi Zou

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING Jordan Baker Kelsey Gray DeFrates Juan Eduardo Hurtado Gabriela Lomeli Connor Tsuchida

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO JACOBS SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING Erick Armingol Jervaughn Hunter Esther Lim Jonathan Pekar Yue Qin

BUSINESS

MIT

SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

Stwart Pena Feliz Belen Gallego Boyana Georgieva Amelia De Paola Amitabh Guha Roy STANFORD UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Olivier Babin Kathryn Gautier Hannah Richards Elizabeth Rosenblatt Joshua Rowley

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO BOOTH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Catalina Bilbao De Raadt Hunter Holland Wynne Tang Todd Vogel Yinga Xia

COMPUTER SCIENCE

CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE Victoria Dean Shivam Duggal Isaac Grosof Divanyash Kaushik Lynn Kirabo

HARVARD JOHN A. PAULSON SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & APPLIED SCIENCES Chi-Ning Chou Gregory Kehne Dor Verbin Kai Wang Kelly Zhang MIT SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING Tanner Andrulis Ce Jin Ming Yang Lu Wei-Chiu Ma Junyi Zhu

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCE Uthsav Chitra Uma Girish Jane Pan Clayton Thomas Teague Joseph Tomesh

STANFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

Peng Chen Ziang Liu Clara Greene MacAvoy Carmen Daniela Strassle Yian Zhang

TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Shengding Hu Zhiyue Li Chen Wang Jiayi Wang Mengyu Zhang

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Michael Lam Kaushik Shivakumar UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE Phoebe Collins Yi He Drew Keller Andrew McNutt Emily Wenger UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING Gargi Balasubramaniam Emmanuel Gallegos Ryan Marten Samraj Moorjani Xueqing Wu

How to deal with a difficult roommate

By Faith Allendorf Managing Editor for Reporting

For many students, going to college means encountering a lot of firsts: liv ing alone, drinking, failing a class and more. For freshmen and some transfer students who are mandated to live in dorms, this may be their first time liv ing with another person who isn’t part of their family.

However, living with a roommate in a dorm no bigger than 12 feet wide isn’t always a great experience. For some students, having a bad roommate can turn a dorm — which is supposed to be a place of rest — into a place of burden.

But living with a bad roommate is not impossible. If you have a bad roommate, here are some actions you can take that can help you maneuver through a tough living situation.

Talk it out — don’t be passive aggressive

Having an open conversation with your roommate is an opportunity to dis cuss your concerns and needs in a way that allows for change. Your roommate may not know that some of their hab its are bothering you, and they may be willing to apologize and change in a way that suits you both.

During the conversation, you can discuss expectations, boundaries and ground rules, as well as find ways to compromise on what you disagree with. Talk about things such as item borrow ing, guest policies, general cleanliness and acceptable noise levels.

Make sure you avoid being passive aggressive — doing that will only cre ate more problems. Don’t groan when their music is too loud or make side com ments about how often you personally do laundry.

The conversation with your roommate is a discussion that can be difficult to have, but it is one that is necessary. This is your space too, and you deserve to feel comfortable.

You don’t have to be “besties”

When you go into college with the expectation that you will be close, it can be disappointing discovering that you and your roommate are not compat ible. The truth is, however, that room mate relationships are not like they are in movies and TV shows.

Remember that this is just someone you are living with and not someone you have to like. The best roommates

are often the courteous roommates that you can discuss boundaries with and not worry about conflict ruining your relationship.

Don’t set the expectation that you will be friends, because if they are not receptive to you, that might make the living situation worse. Instead, work on finding connections outside of your dorm.

Get a room divider and earplugs

Dorms are painfully small, and the concept of personal space doesn’t really exist. Fortunately, there is one way you can create personal space: invest in a room divider.

Room dividers serve as a makeshift door between your side of the room and your roommate’s, blocking both of you from each others’ view. Dividers can create a bit of privacy and could help alleviate some problems, such as dirty laundry making its way to your side. You can also live without the fear that they will look over at you and see you

picking your nose.

However, dividers don’t drown out a loud roommate. If they will not turn down their music or leave the room for phone calls, invest in some cheap ear plugs. The McKinley Health Center has a pair in their sleep packs that you can receive at certain areas on campus.

Talk to your resident advisor

Sometimes, your living situation can be so bad that it feels like you can’t find a way out. After all, housing contracts are extremely binding, but you still have options.

Talking to your RA can lead to differ ent outcomes. Your RA could mediate a conversation between you and your roommate where you talk about your issues and find ways to solve them. In a one-on-one conversation, your RA can also give you advice for dealing with your roommate.

If nothing works, and you can no lon ger stay in your living situation, talking

to your RA is the first step in the pro cess of changing rooms. Moving out is always an option.

Make a home outside of your dorm

Unfortunately, dealing with a bad roommate is not always as easy as having a conversation or buying a room divider, and moving out is a long process.

When other options are exhausted, separating yourself from the situation and spending more time outside of your dorm away from your roommate can be beneficial.

Find a home that is not in a dorm. Join clubs, study in libraries, spend time with friends or take walks around the cam pus’ many sights. While avoiding the problem is not always the best option, removing yourself from a taxing living environment will be better than doing nothing.

SEBASTIAN HOLT THE DAILY ILLINI

Campus apartments struggle with package theft

By Piotr Fedczuk Contributing Writer

Packages are being stolen from University students living in apart ments, forcing them to find alterna tive methods to protect their mail.

Joseph Lamberson, interim assis tant to the Champaign police chief, said package theft is a crime of opportunity.

Packages sitting out in the open, especially with brands or labels like “laptop,” draw people’s interest. Lam berson recommended that students report stolen mail.

“(Reports) assist local police in establishing data points that we can use for seeing if certain types of crimes are on the rise,” Lamberson said. “That can change how we allo cate our patrol resources.”

However, students hesitate in reporting their stolen property to the police.

After having her package stolen, Elvina Kusuran, junior in Media, called the manager of her build ing and was then told to contact the police. She said the manager was not helpful.

“I don’t want to take it to the police, so I didn’t call the police,” Kusuran said.

To prevent her packages from being stolen, Kusuran said she mailed them to her friends’ addresses instead.

“Not presenting an opportunity is the best way to handle it,” added Lamberson.

Zoe Spengler, senior in FAA, tried alternative methods to prevent their packages from being stolen, such as getting notified by USPS when their packages arrived and setting up a network of people to pick up packages.

“I didn’t feel like it was safe to have (mail) sent to my apartment because it felt like they would get stolen immediately,” Spengler said.

Spengler also said they have lost at least $100 to package theft.

“My mom sent me some mail in a package, and that got stolen,” Spen gler said. “I got the mail back not because the person gave it back, but because I found the package open and my mail distributed on the floor.”

fedczuk2@dailyillini.com

SYDNEY LAPUT

Damaged packages and trash are scattered around the mailroom at one of the apartment complexes on Euclid Street.

24/7 homeless shelter to open in Champaign

By Sydney Wood buzz Editor

Champaign County’s first-ever 24/7 homeless shelter — known as Strides — is racing against the clock as it pre pares to open before the onset of the cold season.

According to organizers, the Strides shelter will be at one of two potential Champaign locations: CU at Home’s current location, 70 E. Washington St., or 119 E. University Ave. The shelter is predicted to open Nov. 1.

Neighborhood Programs Manag er Jennifer Carlson said the Strides shelter will be a low-barrier shelter, so sobriety is not a factor in whether people can receive help.

“We like to say that if a person is not on their way to the hospital because they’re having a medical issue, or they’re not on their way to a commu nity jail because they’re committing a crime, they should be able to stay at the shelter,” Carlson said.

Carlson said Strides will not only provide physical shelter for people who are homeless, but hopefully sub stance abuse and mental health ser vices as well.

“There’s going to be a real wrap around approach to getting people physically well, medically well and then work on getting people into more of a permanent housing option,” Carl son said.

According to Carlson, Strides will be able to shelter 50 men and 10 wom en on a daily basis, which she said should meet the needs of the commu nity. She said it’ll cost around $1.9 mil lion per year to keep the shelter run ning, including staffing.

The city of Champaign is spending $3.9 million to fund the shelter for its first two years, but Carlson said it’s up to the city of Champaign Township to do the actual work of providing shel ter services. However, she said mul tiple departments within the city of Champaign are mobilizing to help in this effort.

“Homelessness is a city-wide issue that frequently is addressed at the city level, so we’re supporting the city of Champaign Township, though, in actu ally providing the services,” she said.

Although the shelter will be funded by the city of Champaign during its first two years, Champaign Township Supervisor Andrew Quarnstrom said the township is already looking to pur sue long-term funding.

“Our next goal is to secure perma nent funding for the mark past two years,” Quarnstrom said. “So what we’re going to be doing is reaching out to other local governments, to other partners, to other agencies who are impacted by homelessness to help fight this issue.”

Both Carlson and Quarnstrom agreed that the biggest obstacles in the way of Strides’ opening are employing staff members and secur ing a permanent home for the shelter. The township has already begun the application process, and Quarnstrom said they’re looking to hire 18 peo ple, including the shelter coordinator, safety personnel and case managers.

“Operating in a homeless shelter is not easy,” Quarnstrom said. “It’s not

for the faint of heart, and we recog nize that. So I would say securing that location and ultimately employing the personnel that we need are probably my two greatest concerns.”

Although Strides is set to open on Nov. 1, Quarnstrom said some parts of the planning process are out of the township’s control.

“That’s our goal,” he said. “There’s a million things that are in play here. We believe we can make that happen, but we can only control certain aspects of this.”

He said he’s heard concerns from business owners on University Avenue who are worried about the shelter’s potential placement in the Habitat for Humanity building. While Quarnstom said the organizers will work to min imize those problems, it’s a compli cated issue.

“Everybody so far believes there should be a shelter,” Quarnstrom said. “Some people believe it just shouldn’t be near them, and I get it … But the

reality is, if we’re going to shelter homeless men and women in our com munity, we have to go where they are. If we build a shelter in West Cham paign and it’s not accessible, then it really defeats the purpose.”

Overall, though, he said Strides has earned a positive response among members of C-U and that many peo ple recognize the need for a 24/7 homeless shelter, adding that it’ll put Champaign County “on the forefront of sheltering, especially as it related to a smaller community like ours.”

“It takes a community that has some passion and cares about their most under served to address those things, and I think we are that type of com munity,” Quarnstrom said. “Our com munity members recognize the impor tance of sheltering the unsheltered, addressing their needs, and that ulti mately makes our community a bet ter place.”

Strides intends to offer physical shelter, mental health services in C-U

SYDNEY LAPUT THE DAILY ILLINI

C-U at Home, located on Washington Street, is the possible future home of Champaign County’s first 24/7 homeless shelter, Strides.