Thoughts from the mid-west #1

September 3rd, 2002 | by aobaoill |

There’s something special about a radio station which has a weekly (hour-long) show dedicated to the Grateful dead. WEFT styles itself “Community Radio for East Central Illinois”, and, in line with the American fondness for everything large, operates 10,000 Watts. This from a station that one volunteer described as “Champaign’s best kept secret”.

The sense of size is, perhaps, the most obvious difference facing those arriving here from Ireland. Roads are inordinately wide, the better to accommodate outsize cars and SUVs. Illinois is, of course, corn country (I unfortunately missed the various events at the town’s two-day corn festival), more flat than rolling, and throughout the campus and elsewhere buildings are spaced far enough apart to imply that efficient use of space is not an issue.

While some are concerned by the fondness for asphalt and tar macadam, I have been more struck, especially on campus, with the amount of greenery. Almost every opportunity has been taken to insert lawns, trees and hedges, making for a most attractive environment.

Of course, I may be biased. My apartment, managed by the university housing office, is on the eastern verge of the campus, and faces onto a green space alive with birds, squirrels, butterflies and rabbits. A few days ago, as I stood at my door, a squirrel, which was meandering along the side of the building stopped and, front paws on my doorstep, gazed almost quizzically up at my face, before continuing along its way.

The squirrels are, unsurprisingly, a popular feature on campus, to the extent that a registered student organizing committee (RSOC – the Americans devour acronyms) has been newly formed in their honour. This and other delights, such as ‘Simpsonica’ and, predictably, the ‘Magic: the Gathering’ club, were present at ‘Quad Day’, but greatly outnumbered not only by religious groups, but representatives of the ‘Greek’ system.

UIUC, I have now learnt, boasts the biggest frat/sorority ‘scene’ in the US of A. A point strangely missing from official college literature. Not that such groups are not in favour – UIUC, after all was where the first Greek house started, and many university donors are themselves ‘alumns’ of the system. Just how this will impact on my life here, I’m not yet sure: for many non-Greeks the term ‘frat-boy’ is up there in their list of put-downs with ‘from the suburbs’ – and, boy, do they hate the suburbs…

And yes, people do self-identify as ‘Greek’. And yes, that can be a bit confusing. Especially when WEFT runs a fairly good Greek music show each week, which I somehow doubt has a large ‘Greek’ audience. But, there I go, acclimatising already!

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