Many students, no matter their college, suffer culture shock to a certain extent when they enter their freshman year.  Whether it be the new assortment of students or the utopian bubble that surrounds any college town, there’s no doubt the University can seem like another planet.

Fortunately, world-class faculty matched with our plethora of resources makes for a rewarding combination. Moving from a thriving city to a college town like Champaign-Urbana can easily turn your previously diverse experience into a monotonous one; however, if you know where to look, the University can serve as a cultural hotspot.

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts

Although it may seem like the obvious choice, The Krannert Center for the Performing Arts hosts high-profile events year-round that fall under the radar of many students. Not only does it host University-sponsored groups, but in the past, it has also featured the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, dance performances, plays, musicals and the occasional Ted Talk. If you were to go anywhere else for entertainment, you could pay upwards of hundreds of dollars per ticket, but being a University student allows you the unique advantage of discounts.  It’s wise to benefit from your tuition money to the fullest extent by taking advantage of the resources we have, especially because it’s right on campus.

The Spurlock Museum

Another on-campus option is the Spurlock Museum, which offers even more convenient online exhibits in addition to in-person permanent and temporary ones.  These online resources are perfect for relevant research papers because they have articles and high-quality images that are chock-full of information. Similar to Krannert, Spurlock also hosts events like films, professional talks and workshops. Because the Spurlock Museum has such an extensive range of exhibits, you can arrange to take a guided tour or receive guidelines on how to tour yourself.

On-campus galleries

If you’re fiending to get off campus and go exploring, downtown Urbana is a great place to start, especially when it comes to art galleries. Cinema Gallery, The Gilbert Gallery and Sullivan Fine Arts Studio are all great choices to observe sculptures, paintings, prints and more in the downtown Champaign-Urbana area.  

Just because we’ve moved to a college town in the middle of the midwest, this doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice our level of cultural enrichment. Take time to explore all of the on- and off-campus opportunities we have at this world-class university.

Jamie is a junior in Media.

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