Local News in Champaign County
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Gender-inclusive housing brings safe spaces for all identities
FAR is currently under construction — the residence hall’s communal bathrooms will be converted into individual single-use stalls. This change is not just for aesthetics. According to Mari Anne Brocker Curry, director of housing information & marketing for University Housing, the…
‘Web of support’: Embedded clinical counselors, RCMs combat mental health stigma
It wasn’t until 2018 that the University’s embedded counseling program started. Even then, it only had two embedded clinical counselors to support an enrollment of nearly 50,000 students, according to University Housing embedded clinical counselor Carrie Finkill. Today, the…
What’s coming soon? Housing projects around campus
If you’ve waited in line at The Red Lion recently, you can’t have missed the adjacent construction site for a new high-rise apartment building on Green Street. Amid a housing shortage affecting apartments and residence halls alike, students are scrambling to find places to stay —…
UI Housing, students talk Busey-Evans Dining Hall
Busey-Evans Dining Hall closed in Spring 2020, and since then, it’s been collecting dust. While students have floated ideas of what to do with the space, Mari Anne Brocker Curry, director of housing information & marketing for University Housing, said it likely won’t see any…
UI students make their house a home
Every year, at the beginning of fall, some University students are faced with the decision of signing a lease for the next school year. For some, this time can be less stressful if they renew their lease and avoid the pain of moving. Joshua Marin, senior in LAS, is entering his…
Opinion | Buildings don’t make memories
Wheels of moving carts shriek as they not-so-gracefully glide across the slightly rubbery, speckled tile. It’s a crisp 97 degrees Fahrenheit, and the excited peer chatter from outside is muffled through the window. You deeply inhale the scent of your new room’s old past, which…
Townies make room for home in college
For many, the University feels like home. For some, it literally is. Local students, often called “townies,” grew up in the same community where they attend college, making the decision of where to live different from their peers. For Illinois Student Government president Jaden…
Expert, community members discuss noise, vibration limits at data center task force meeting
The Champaign County Data Center Activities Task Force held a meeting Monday to discuss two sections of its draft ordinance on large data center development. The previous task force meeting was Aug. 31 and consisted of three hours of public input on sections of the draft…
Illinois doubles up on Ivy League at Chowderfest
The Illini sent four competitors to compete in the three-day Harvard Chowderfest this weekend. Sophomore David Bakonyi, freshman Jon Gamble, freshman Nicholas Mekhael and senior Colson Wells all competed in singles and doubles. Bakonyi paired with Nebraska transfer Wells for this…
McKinley Giving Garden grows to serve the community
Covered in vines and small leafy shrubs, a small patch of land called the McKinley Giving Garden greets people outside Presby Hall. The garden acts as a place to grow and tend to produce while simultaneously serving the community. The garden is in partnership with many…
Mental Health Fair puts campus support within reach
On Tuesday, the Illini Union held a Mental Health Fair as part of Illini Wellness Week to connect students with campus resources and organizations focused on student well-being. The fair, held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., featured a range of organizations students could stop by and…
NuEra Champaign offers medical cannabis following law change
Patients with qualifying conditions can now purchase medical cannabis at nuEra’s Champaign dispensary as of Sept. 10, following changes to cannabis law in Illinois. After the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation issued 37 new medical licenses to Illinois…