By Sean Pratt

If you lived in Champaign for a considerable amount of time, you may have noticed we are in this grey area. We aren’t really a small town nor are we a concrete jungle where dreams are made of, I’ve heard that title was taken by another city. If you ask most people, they’ll stamp us as a “college town” and not give it any more thought, but I wanna dig deeper into what that means. Does a college town have anything more to do than just have a big college? The answer is (spoiler alert) yes, and I wanna take some time today to try and narrow down what a college town is, as well as telling you what our college town has to offer.

One of the main characteristics of a college town is a diverse population. As of 2021, a little more than half of Champaign, Illinois residents are white. Compared to cities around us, that’s a lot of space for other cultures. And when other cultures come to live here, they bring a taste of home with them, ensuing a  lot of restaurants with foods all around the globe. 27 Mexican restaurants, 34 Asian restaurants, 3 middle eastern restaurants, 7 Indian restaurants, and an African restaurant. Odds are if you are looking for something, it’s either in business or it’ll be opening soon.

What about Art? Well I’m glad you asked dear reader, for I have just the news for you. If you are looking for some nice art to browse at the Krannert Art Museum. If you are into looking at things in general, it’s the place for you. Krannert mainly holds pieces from America and Europe from the twentieth century. But it is constantly rotating in new exhibits for you to check out, so I highly encourage that. If actual art isn’t your forte, take a deep breath, you are still in good hands. The funny thing about art is at the end of the word there is a silent and invisible “s.” Champaign is culturally rich in not just art, but the arts. Around the area there are all kinds of venues for live music, The City Center, The Canopy Club, the list goes on really. If you are looking for more performing arts there are plenty of passionate people, whether they are kids from the Park District, students from our local high schools and colleges, or fully grown adults from the CU Theatre Company, they all have a deep passion for theater that I beg you just give a chance.

If you are looking to spend some time outdoors to enjoy the nice spring weather or participate in what my English teacher calls “leaf peepin,” There’s plenty of beautiful parks for you to visit. The Champaign Park District facilitates 62 parks with over 700 Acres of land total. If you are in the mood for some walking I would recommend Meadowbrook Park, if you are looking for a park with a bunch of the city around it, I would recommend West Side or Hessel Park, but the Park District has plenty of different parks all filled with different things to do. If you are looking for something different. It’s not just the Park District that has things for you though. The University of Illinois has two big attractions as well: The Japanese Garden for students of Japanese Arts but is also open to the public and boasts multiple tea rooms and traditional gardens. Speaking of gardens, the Agricultural College of Environmental Sciences has the Arboretum, A beautiful 160 acre garden, which I’m totally adding to my visit list.

UIUC’s Japan House Garden 

While researching this article I have discovered some amazing places that helped me narrow down what a “college town” really means. It isn’t a town that simply houses a big college; it’s a city that houses both a big college, as well as the culture that comes with it (and no I don’t mean an excessive amount of white claw.) A college town is a project that enriches both the students and faculty who get to work on it, as well as the citizens who reap the benefits of it, and I hope to see you out there doing so, as will I.