The New College Smell Wears Off: Gripes and Concerns

By Katrina Halfaker on March 30, 2014

The four years we have here at UIUC tend to go very quickly. While some may think fondly of their experiences, it’s also good to reflect on all the negative aspects of being in college at Urbana-Champaign. Many think they know about “the struggle” of college students based on internet articles and memes, but many locality-based and other issues remain unstated and downplayed.

1. Constant moving and arranging subleases. It’s much worse for people who live in the dorms, because they lug everything there, unpack, then pack and lug everything away again. Belongings get lost, trashed, or broken. Security deposits, pet fees, bills. Writing checks to multiple people and places. It is exactly how adulthood should feel, but the compounded stress of not being able to work full time and be in school, plus planning for the future, gets intense. Why can’t we just be snails and carry our homes around with us? Seriously. 

2. Textbook shopping. Is it necessary? Yes. Do we loathe it? Sometimes. If it’s not Amazon or Chegg not delivering a book on time, it’s the Illini Union Bookstore not ordering the correct amount of materials (or even not ordering them at all). Many a professor has complained about this. At least in the humanities, texts can be found relatively easily outside of the university to save money. But if you’re in integrative biology or any kind of engineering or other science: good luck. Aside from all of that, some instructors require students to buy a specific edition which includes specific software for a specific kind of online homework, and guess what? Used texts don’t include that software. Related cruelty: that moment when your teacher requires you to buy a book he/she/it wrote.

3. There are absolutely no trails or forests in walking or biking distance. Every shrub is meticulously placed so that it blends in with the looming buildings. And what is up with those giant concrete plant pots on Wright Street? Who thought that was a good idea? It’s all urban landscaping and cracked roads and some random one-way streets. The closest equivalent of a preserve is Allerton Park, and it’s close to 30 miles away. Sure, there are slack-liners on the quad and frisbee opportunities, but it’s not the same as going for a scenic ride or nature hike. Areas in Savoy are also quite nice, but there are no clear paths and one has to share lanes with cars. Not everyone feels safe doing that.

4. Do you need counseling? Good luck. If you need one-on-one care, you may have to fight for it, since the Counseling Center is under-funded and under-staffed relative to the size of campus. My sources have it that many who ask for services are wait listed, unless clinical depression, ADHD or other troubles likely requiring medication are detected. The good news is, Family Services in Champaign offers reduced cost therapy to anyone in need. The bad news is, very few students know about it.

Do we find ways to amuse ourselves? Yes. Do we bend down to the hustle and grind? Absolutely. That, or we take a leave of absence to compose ourselves. So let us not discount the stress that builds, and let us not paint college as “the most amazing thing” to ever happen. It’s a lot of hard work, it’s a lot of being alone and it’s a learning curve.

 

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