University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Top Questions

Greek life can be very important if you join it for the right reasons. My opinion is that mainstream greeks join orgs because they want the girls/guys, parties, and beer. That is not what going greek means to me. I joined because I saw what it can offer me and what I can offer it. I saw a group of brothers that were almost like blood brothers. I treat them as I would my blood brother. I introduce them as "my brother" to everyone. Like other orgs in UGC, Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity Inc. hosts several events on campus that spread cultural awareness, which is one of our pillars. Our culture is a big part of why we are on campus. We have had brothers of many different cultures and backgrounds. We are a Latino-Based Fraternity, but not strictly to Latinos.

The greek system takes over 25{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of our campus. Thats a HUGE number for a large public school with close to 30,000 undergraduates. Dorm room doors are left open during the day, and kids are very social. Athletic events are pretty big on campus; students are very active. The dating scene is pretty hot, there are alot of good looking girls here, and the big bar scene helps alot. Im greek, so most of my good friends are greek. Being greek is huge, and opens so many doors to relationships of both sexes. I am normally up past 2 am every day of the week. If im studying, i study late, and if im not, i probably am drinking either at my frat house past 2 am, or at the bars, which close at 2 am. People party alot here. If you wanted to party every day of the school year it is absolutely possible, but that doesn't mean people aren't disciplined. Students get their work done, and then party hard. Last weekend i went on an greek exchange to St Louis for a Blues vs Blackhawks hokcey game. It was a blast. On Saturdays if i dont want to drink there are plenty of things to do. There are frequent concerts... people play cards... There is a ton of stuff, but i am a bad example though beacuse i drink every Saturday.

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At Illinois there are a few things that incoming students should be aware of. The greek system is large and you only have to be 19 to get into the bars. Following that statement I should mention that the local police make it their number one priority to catch underage drinkers ($300 dollar ticket) at the bars. The greek system is for everyone. Like everything in life there are the "beautiful people" and they usually join the same frats and sororities. The sorority system is as democratic as politically correct as possible but no matter what there are always girls crying after the last day of bids because they didn't get the house they wanted. Ill take you through a typical day for an Illinois student on a Saturday for a football game. 8am-Wake up from long night before. You were going to come home early but didn't. It's going to be a long day. 9am-If you're in a frat or sorority you're getting ready for block (going to a bar with a greek system of the opposite sex), if you're tailgating you're heading towards the stadium to grill and party until the game, if you're in the 6 pack the band is walking by and waking you up with their music and you try to find someone to party with. 11-4pm- You're likely at the game, watching the game at an apartment, or watching the game at a bar, or depending on the night before still sleeping. 5pm- If you're tailgating with friends or family you will probably continue, otherwise return home and rest/recover, lastly go straight to the bars and continue to party 7-10pm- you're likely resting or watching some other sporting event, you've come to an Illini Hockey game (every fri and sat after september at the Ice rink at 7pm), or you're still partying 11pm- go out to the bars if you still can and have a good night celebrating the win. 2am-go eat at Antonios for the best Pizza on campus

U of I has a HUGE greek system. There are over two-thousand people that are apart of either a fraternity or sorority which makes it the largest in the nation. Being apart of a house has been a highlight of my freshman year. I would highly recommend going through rush freshman year because you get a chance to meet a ton of new people that you normally wouldn't. The dorms are also a great place to meet people, too. The six-pack dorms are very social and everyone leaves their doors open so it's easy to make friends. My friends and I all joined Illini Pride and Orange Krush. Get football tickets because those games are so much fun! Especially because we've got a good team now!! Orange Krush (basketball) tickets are awesome because if you get to the games early enough you can get floor seats and be 40 feet away from the players. Orange Krush is a lot of fun but you have to do some fundraising in order to get good seats. It requires some work but it's definitely worth it!

Basketball and football are big athletic events, but everything else has to be free with food for people to think of going. People range in how much they go out, I'd say usually 3 times a week, but it completely depends on midterms, work, etc. Greek life is huge but I feel like you could stay pretty much completely out of it if you wanted.

I already touched on Greek IV and that is where I have found some of my closest friends who are in the Greek system and pursuing a Christian lifestyle. I also have great friends in Young Life, a ministry geared toward high school and middle school students in local Champaign. Regarding athletics, I have found the love of my life, rowing. We don't have a body of water near campus, so we go to a lake 15 minutes away to practice for regattas in St. Louis, Indianapolis and elsewhere. It's a small but steadily growing team. The coaches are very passionate about this sport and are taking big strides to get the university more involved.

There is an interesting merge at U of I between school activities and drinking. Alcohol permeates the culture here, and even professional associations have social events that revolve around drinking. Partying throughout the week is the norm until junior or senior year.

There are a lot of organizations on campus. Too many to even list. If you think of something you want to do, you can do it. Dancing, sports, theater, gaming, fencing, culture clubs, cookie, guest speaker, you name it. We have it. For more, see my statement on stereotypes.

Sports are a major things in this school. I am not big on the social thing but I have found friends that are like me. We like to stay home and just watch TV, and go to Starbucks, the movies and late nights at Walmart. Last weekend I watched the whole second season of Dexter. On a Tuesday at 2am I am more than likely studying. My closest friends are from organizations and classes I have been.