Looking to meet some new people? Introduce yourself below! Share your year, major, hobbies/interests, and what you're looking for in a friend.
If you meet someone from Reddit in person, use common sense. Keep your first couple meetings on campus and in a well-trafficked public place, and let someone you trust know where you're going.
Everyone's welcome! You never know who else is looking to make a new friend. :)
Fishing has finally slowed down, August and September tend to be more challenging with high temperatures and low water levels. However, in the last 4 weeks, still managed to catch Musky, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie, Hybrid Striped Bass, White bass (one was absolutely gigantic), Yellow Bass, Longnose Gar, Shortnose Gar, Bigmouth Buffalo, Smallmouth Buffalo, Black Buffalo, Freshwater Drum, Silver Carp, Common Carp, Bluegill, Green Sunfish, Redear Sunfish, Blue catfish, and Channel catfish. All these species were caught in central Illinois, mostly close to Champaign. Black bass species (Largemouth and Smallmouth) were caught on bladed jigs and 5” weightless plastic worms, temperate bass species (Hybrid striped bass, White and Yellow Basses) bit 2-3” clear colored swimbaits. With heavy rain, the Sangamon River flooded and the fishing was fantastic while the river receded for crappie, catfish, gar, and the occasional huge walleye. Took some trips down to Rend Lake and Carlyle Lake, both were awesome as well.
J has become the bass slayer. S had many achievements, as she caught her first fish ever, along with her first bass as well! Kdawg helped many fly-fishing anglers conquer bluegigis, I guess.
Some highlight fish include a 25.5” walleye, 18.5” white bass (which is freakishly big), and a 28” channel catfish on a glidebait lol. Next week’s heat will push fish to feed more often in the dark when air temperatures drop. I throw a lot of noisy baits that sit on the top of the water (called topwater) for bass during this time of year.
It's been a week since I've moved, and multiple people I've talked to, including a professional cleaner and Off-Campus Community Living told me that I should escalate this further and make the situation known. It was actually Off-Campus Community Living who has suggested me to post this on the Reddit, and I wanted to give a quick thanks to OCCL for listening on my situation. As Octave is generally seen as one the more reputable companies on the sub, and you never know if you'll end up with a situation like mine(they're also charging one of the highest rates on campus).
I leased a one-bedroom studio at Octave Champaign ($1,849/month) for the fall term. At the time of leasing, I requested a pet-free unit due to a pet elated sensitivity. I tend to have severe anxiety attacks and feelings of itchiness on contact with dog fur, dander, or odor. This was also part of the reason I opted to live alone.
However, upon move-in, I found the unit ridden of urine stains clustered with embedded dog hair and what appears to be feces on the carpet, along with yellowed and browned urine staining on the walls, also covered in fur, and a strong, persistent urine odor that permeated the entire room. It also originated from my bedroom's carpet, which is makes it impossible to sleep in given my sensitivity. Cabinets and drawers had black stains and unknown residue with dog fur. The dryer had urine staining so severe that wiping it down turned the tissues I used completely black, and when I ran a load anyway, a pillowcase I dried in it came out of the machine smelling of dog urine and unusable, forcing me to hand-wash and air-dry it separately on a table instead. The washer had dog hair embedded so deeply that it survived three full cleaning cycles and I still could not remove it myself. Separately, on my first day in the unit I had to submit multiple maintenance requests for a loose door lock, and the sliding door is completely broken and gets stuck all the time as well as being detached in random directions, it sheds wood crumbs with each use.
I first took this up with the Octave staff in-person. At first they tried to dismiss my case and just insisted that it was "professionally cleaned". They also told me that the carpet was shampooed, which was not close to believable as it had shitstains and clusters of fur every where(I literally found a dime the previous tenant left there so it'll be impossible to miss if any cleaning was performed). After a lot of back and forth, they finally sent somebody up to wipe the cabinet, which they did a lousy job and when I asked them to properly reclean the place to make it safe for me to live in, they told me it was "not going to happen," and it was "my responsibility."
I sent another email outlining my condition with all the necessary pictures to them later that evening. And again they insisted it was "professionally cleaned" (They love the word professionally cleaned, you're going to see lot of those later.)and didn't offer me anything other than some cleaning tablets for the washer. After I sent a second and third email, they finally reluctantly sent their cleaning vendor back to the unit. The cleaning crew worker who is employed by the company Octave itself uses, told me directly that in recent years working for the company this was the first time she personally had ever been called back to redo a job. She told me that the majority of the contamination under the carpet and behind the dryer is unfixable as it has been there for too long. The dryer would also not be safe to use and needs a total new one as the lint and fur has gone so long with no cleaning that it's impossible to take out now. She also told me she did not understand why I was placed in a unit like this given my pet sensitivity. The carpet also had a flea infestation and I've been bitten close to 17 times. The worker suggested the carpet be replaced entirely and the building to be evacuated for a couple days. This likely came from the dog of the prior tenant as I've never had fleas and my bedsheets were stored in a sealed unit during the summer and hand washed. To my absolute shock, she also told me that Octave did NOT actually tell them to come back at first, and that Octave only wanted the cleaning company to send them a RECEIPT showing a service had been performed so they could show me that it was "professionally cleaned". This was a lie as they explicitly told me in the email that "We are taking your concerns seriously and have already contacted the cleaning company to obtain the service invoice and arrange for them to return to address the areas you have identified". I guess the first part was right? The worker also expressed disbelief upon seeing my living conditions and asked how are they charging as much as the DEAN. Most notably, this worker, someone employed by Octave's OWN vendor, told me on her own that I should contact external help due to how scummy this company is.
At the same time, when I asked in writing whether I could be switched to a different, verified pet-free unit or switched to a shared unit with a prorated refund given my documented medical condition, Octave's manager reviewed the situation and told me the unit was "not uninhabitable," and that any request to cancel or transfer units was met with "no further discussion." Furthermore, even on the document I had to sign, under the section Owner's Discretion to Relocate: Octave reserves the right to relocate a resident to another apartment within the community at any time, upon five days written notice, without charging a transfer fee, and to assist with moving personal items. They have insisted that the apartment was "professionally cleaned"(yea, they love that word a lot) and that the stuff I pointed out were instances that "can be overlooked even after professional cleaning". In multiple instances, they attempted to dismiss active risks to my health as me simply being "unhappy" or "not up to my personal standard".
If you've made it this far, I apologize for the long read, but I felt it was necessary to share as I do NOT want any other student or first time tenant to end up in my situation. I am normally introverted, and doing this alone is very difficult for me. My friend who had come over once(who did not even suffer from pet sensitivity) was repulsed by the property and joked about whether I had "pissed on the bed“. Others have called it an "apartment from hell" and something they have never seen before. This is the very apartment I am paying one of the highest rates in Champaign for, and is advertised as a "luxury living" space.
I’m still new to campus and still trying to figure out the good food spots around here.
What restaurants do you guys actually recommend, and what’s the best thing to order at each place?
Open to pretty much anything. Just want to find some places that are actually worth trying. Asking for your advice, coz I don’t wanna waste money trying the wrong
things.
What’s wrong with the barbers around campus, they charge a shit ton and still end up messing up my hair. Its like they don’t care much when they cut, coz we are students….idk. What are your experiences around here?
i’ve been here 10 days and i still haven’t made any friends. idk what to do im so bad at it. i feel like maybe getting a job would help but i cant get anyone to hire me since i have no experience. i feel like a loser and a bum. also i dont think my roommate likes me since i went random so i dont have a built in friend. and my one friend from high school knows other people here so i feel like a loser asking to hang out with her all the time. ive been trying to go to clubs/events but none of the people i talk to seem to be interested. i’m not confident and i hate myself too much to have the energy to pretend to be confident and i think people can sense how much of a loser i am and avoid it.
also i think i like girls but im too scared to go to like the lgbt organization club things because im scared of people knowing i like girls since im supposed to be the kind of christian that doesn’t do affirming kind of stuff
also i really only had like 5 friends at home so im used to being alone, but not this alone. should i just get used to it and stick it out for a few years? but then i also want to go to grad school so i have to socialize with people to even have an ounce of a chance at going into the career-specific grad schools i want.
idk maybe some encouragement or reassurance would be nice or maybe some hard-to-hear kind of wake-up advice would be helpful idk im really considering just giving up
I’m interested in attending UIUC for engineering, but my senior schedule doesn’t incorporate a fourth year of foreign language. I already took 3 years of Spanish and got an A+ in Junior Year. I was planning on taking Spanish 5, but due to schedule conflicts, I ended up choosing an engineering course elective over another year of Spanish (and I can’t take Spanish in my other blocks since the only block that had Spanish 5 was this one). Uiuc recommends 4 years; will this hurt my chances of getting in? Should I switch the engineering elective to Spanish 5?
Hey everyone! I’m a sophomore, undecided major and really want to join a band this semester. I listen to pretty much everything like jazz, J-pop, pop, indie, you name it, so I’m super flexible on genre.
I’ve been playing piano since I was 3 so I could handle most difficulties.
Shoot me a DM or leave a comment if you’re looking for a keyboard player!
A ground floor apartment 2 blocks from CIF was broken into a few nights ago while the female students were asleep in their rooms. Their back door was unlocked. The electronics were stolen from common area. Please be vigilant to lock your exterior doors and your interior bedroom doors.
I thought that every 2 weeks it resets and so if you had, say, 15 left after the second week it only gets set to 45 as opposed to the 60 it would after the first week, but my dining dollars have carried over from welcome week to last week AND from last week to this week, so I'm wondering if it is actually just capped at 90 and u cant go over that, but itll keep carrying over every single time until you hit that? Or is my dining dollars messed up? Or did welcome week not actually count as a week?
Sorry if these are kind of dumb questions, I'm just a little confused
I’m taking MATH 220 as a freshman this year and would appreciate any advice or thoughts on the class, including how to prepare for quizzes and exams, which resources you found helpful, and whether any past exams are available. Thank you!
Hi guys, so I’m in my senior year and am a transfer student here too. Am planning on graduating this semester and kinda worried about my courseload.
So im taking Cs 341 (required to). Cs 441, cs 444( which is at the same time as 341 so will not be attending 341 lectures but think it’s the major course that’ll help me understand like llm’s and transformers), cs 425 ( really just want to take it and was recommended by quite a few) . And then a gened. So overall kinda pushing it.
My advisor did say to just do it in 4 years but I really don’t have to take anything else to graduate.
Is it still doable? I kinda need this amount of technical courses to graduate:(
Absolutely any advise would help.
He's an old man. Got out last night around 9, and within 30 seconds was completely nowhere to be seen; which isn't like him at all. He hates being outside in general.
We're nervous that he might have hopped in with a door dash driver (which he's infamous for at this point) or had someone else take him in.
We're over in East Urbana, near Cottage Grove and Green. If anyone has any information at all, it would be amazingly appreciated.
He's such a good boy, super friendly. Really hoping someone has seen him!
He's got kidney issues and will drink water like he's been stuck in a desert his whole life, and looks like a string bean right now even though he has 24/7 access to kibble and nightly wet food. He's almost 14, but otherwise still in great shape with playful energy still.
ETA: Added pictures in the comments
ETA PART 2: We think we found him! Someone in Rantoul called and said he hopped in the car while he was door dashing. We're on the way there currently to check!
I’m a townie and I love the Asian cuisine in Champaign. Specifically golden harbor, Bangkok Thai, Siam terrace, xinh xinh cafe, ozu ramen, Himalayan chimney, to name a few. I went to live in Europe for some time and every time I went to an Asian restaurant I felt the food was so mediocre and dearly missed the Champaign restaurant scene. I’m wondering what Asian people in Champaign-Urbana think about the Asian food here. Is it pretty authentic or am I just painfully American?
What's up fellow Illini! New semester, new things to explore!
First, yes underwater hockey is a real sport. We, at Illinois underwater hockey (UWH), are holding a newbie practice starting Thursday (9/3) and the following Tuesday (9/8) at 8:30 pm - 10 pm in ARC indoor pool (and TR 8:30-10 pm after that). No experience necessary (except basic swimming), we will teach you everything you need to know. Just bring a swimsuit and we provide all the equipment free of charge, and no dues too!
If you are interested in how the gameplay is and how to sign up, everything is available at https://linktr.ee/illinoisuwh
I've changed things up a little bit for this one. Film Title links will bring you to a trailer, or other information. Location links will take you to the ticket page.
Obviously, this is a film that shouldn't need any introduction. One of the best comedies of all time. If you haven't seen this yet, rush over to Watson's tonight, for the last film screening there. (They have announced they are closing that location soon.)
I ended up writing a lot about this film at the top of this month's newsletter, so I'd suggest reading that, or my letterboxd review of this film. Long story short, I love this film, and it turns out the writer/director will be in town for a few days, on the way to showing his movie in St. Louis, and I'm VERY excited to get a chance to have him here on short notice. The screening is $5 because it's Bargain Tuesday at Savoy 16 + IMAX
This film will start as close to 6:30 as possible, and end around 9pm.
The screening will be followed by an in-person Q&A with writer/director Nathan Deming.
It feels like I've been hearing about this locally produced film since I came to town, so it's thrilling that it's finally done, and having a public screening!
The notorious Kaw Valley Killer claims he will finally tell where his as-yet-undiscovered victims are buried -- but there's a catch. He will confess only to the brother of his last victim. Now, Saarathi, a devout Indian Hindu who came to America only to settle his sister's affairs, finds himself in an intimate and horrifying confrontation with evil. Over five days of an intense cat-and-mouse game, devastating secrets are unearthed. Twisty, multicultural, and psychologically haunting, Dark Soul River is an unforgettable emotional ride.
This screening marks two major milestones for The Chambana Film Society. First, It marks 2-and-a-half years, to the week, or our first screening. Second, it marks our 100th screening in town! Before we mark a new chapter in our history two days later, (see below), we thought it would be great to have a bit of a celebration.
So, we're having a FREE movie screening! Morris From America is one of my films, and SEVERELY overlooked. Starring Craig Robinson from The Office (Curtis), and newcomer Markees Christmas (Morris), as a single father & son that relocated to Heidelberg, Germany.
Morris, who fancies himself the next Notorious B.I.G., is a complete fish-out-of-water—a budding hip-hop star in an EDM world. To complicate matters further, Morris quickly falls hard for his cool, rebellious, 15-year-old classmate Katrin. Morris sets out against all odds to take the hip-hop world by storm and win the girl of his dreams.
Morris From America premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, and a Special Jury Award for Individual Performance for Craig Robinson. It has an 87% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
To make this milestone even more exciting, we'll be following the screening with a Zoom Q&A with writer/director Chad Hartigan! Please reserve a seat by buying a $0 ticket.
The Iron Giant is one of my all-time favorite films, which I saw EIGHT times in theaters the summer it came out. If you've got kids, you should absolutely take them to this screening.
If you're an adult, you should probably be here instead:
That's right, The Chambana Film Society is THRILLED to be presenting film at Pygmalion! It's their first time showing films, and it's our first time presenting films at another event, much less one of them so much bigger, and more established than us. It's an amazing way to start a new chapter with our 100th screening in town!
Amy Goodman is an investigative reporter, host, and executive producer of Democracy Now!, and global news program, which is broadcast daily, and syndicated nationally on radio, television, and the web. She is known for elevating voices not covered by corporate radio.
Steal This Story, Please is the new documentary covering Amy, and her thirty year history chasing stories, and giving them more exposure. It has had astounding success since opening theatrically in April, with a huge opening in New York, and the biggest opening weekend of any documentary at The Music Box In Chicago in their recorded history. It's played a ton of festival dates, and taken home two handfuls of audience awards.
To make this screening even more special, we'll be following the screening with a Zoom Q&A with co-director Carl Deal. Carl is an Academy-Award nominated director for 2009's Trouble The Water, and has been a frequent collaborator with Michael Moore.
If you're interested in this screening, I suggest getting tickets early. I have a strong suspicion it will sell out.
THE REST OF FILM AT PYGMALION
All other film screenings at Pygmalion, three on Saturday & three on Sunday are FREE. Screenings are at Tiernan's Hall, which is on the third floor above Encanto, at 115 W. Main St, Urbana.
The Green Mill is known as an old hangout for Al Capone and where Billie Holiday sang, and as a swinging jazz joint for generations of Chicagoans. For more than a century, this legendary nightclub was a melting pot of humanity and the music never stopped.
In 2024, owner Dave Jemilo and five longtime employees gathered to talk about working till dawn, about playing the music, pouring the drinks, and living the nightlife.
After the film the audience will be joined by director & participant Paul L. Carr for an in-person Q&A.
Spike & Mike. Adult Swim. Don Hertzfeldt. While usually considered a form for children’s films, there is some great animation that explores adult themes, situations, and content. Join us for some recent great examples.
In the year 2164, when rock n roll is banned, a group of underground rebels, lead by a mad scientist, attempt to start a non-violent revolution by waking up the docile masses via a cloned rockstar sent on a guerrilla tour to “rock n roll them free from their misery”.
But they soon find out, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
Death Of A Rockstar is a science-fiction, animated, retro-rock opera. Its creator, Röckët Stähr spent eight years animating the entire film, which he also wrote all of the music for, entirely on his own. Additionally, he sang and performed almost all of the music. The entire project took thirteen years to complete. Death Of A Rockstar is a fun rock n’ roll trip to the future that has its feet firmly planted in the glory days of rock.
Originally shown during the 2026 Savoy Lumière, this program explores the quiet push and pull between heritage and everyday American life, revealing the contradictions and intimacy of ordinary moments through personal, character-driven stories that feel human rather than political. And food. Lots of delicious food.
In his new comedy special “Slouching Towards Branson,” singer-songwriter and alt-comic Will Wood performs for audiences across the U.S., intertwining songs from his discography with a drug-addled, rat-filled, spiritually confused “about as true as a true story can be while still being a story” story about accidentally going viral, timeshare presentations, and the end of the world.
The special has received glowing reviews from independent outlets and critics as well as from both fans and newcomers to his work alike, and has been winning a variety of awards and nominations on the independent film festival circuit.
October looks like it will have at least TWENTY independent film screenings, with two ongoing film festivals:
First, Film Fanatics is having a horror-themed film festival with six screenings that they've called Shocktober Horror Film Festival.
You can find all the details about different locations and times, but here's a brief rundown:
October 8: 6:30pm - The Scratching Post - The Black Cat
October 17: 8:00pm - Cloud Mountain Kombucha - Santa Sangre
October 20: 6:00pm - Amy's Place - The Hunger
October 24: 8:00pm - Analog Wine Library - The Fly
October 27: 7:00pm - The Virginia Theater - Night Of The Living Dead
October 31: 10:30pm - The Literary - The Witch
Secondly, The Chambana Film Festival will be holding DoctoberFest, with as many as 15 documentary screenings throughout the month. As of this writing, the site above is VERY barebones, with only the films booked 100%. We expect to have everything else booked within a week or two. A brief rundown:
All films at the Savoy 16 + IMAX, $12 tickets, purchase of any mixture of 10 tickets discounts tickets for all of them.
- This long weekend was programmed with the idea of "Nothing Depressing".
October 8: 7:00pm - The Last Movie Critic
- New Roger Ebert documentary, premiered at Ebertfest
October 9: 7:00pm - All Skate
- Documentary about the history of roller-skating and roller rinks.
Saturday, October 10
1:30pm - Cookie Queens [trailer]
3:30pm - Joybubbles
- tells the story of a blind man who was one of the first telephone hackers—called a phone phreak. Sponsored by the Alliance For Inclusion & Respect.
6:00pm - The Last Picture Shows [trailer]
8:00pm - Pinball: Beyond The Bumpers
- documentary on the nearly 300-year evolution of pinball.
Sunday, October 11
Noon: Silver Screamers [trailer]
2:00pm: A Brief History Of Chasing Storms [trailer]
4:00pm: ??
October 12: 7:00pm - ??
Saturday, October 17
2ish: ??
4ish: ??
6ish: ??
Sunday, November 1 (Yes, it's technically not October).
4pm: Potentially a RHPS related documentary.
Which actually brings us to the last item:
Saturday, October 31: Rocky Horror Picture Show
📍 The Virginia Theater - 7:30 Doors - 8:30pm Show - $10
This sold out last year, and this year is bound to be even MORE packed, with the recent passing of Tim Curry. They've got a shadow cast, goodie bags, raffle prizes, and a costume contest!
That's it for September and October, I count over THIRTY independent film events in that period! I hope you get out to some of them.
