Congratulations to Illinois Terminal for achieving this monumental step!

For those of you who have never been to Illinois Terminal, I would recommend you take a look at their offerings. I’ve used the terminal for both the bus station and train station. The train is a very affordable alternative for the nice weekend trip home. Whether you are going north to Chicago, or south to St. Louis, or all the way down to New Orleans, the train is a safe bet. You should experience a train ride at least once before you graduate, so check it out!

Illinois Terminal marks 10 years of revenue independence – The News-Gazette

CUMTD Illinois Terminal Website

Amtrak Station Website

It is a great area, used by many University groups – students, faculty, and stuff – for conferences, leadership retreats, and other important events. A well-known part of Allerton to students is the Ropes Course, used to teach teamwork and leadership.

Unfortunately, Allerton recently announced that due to University budget tightening, some of their programs must be discontinued.

Citing tight finances, Allerton Park has placed several programs on hiatus, including day camps and music concerts.

Summer day camps for children will not be offered, but the 4-H Memorial Camp programs will continue.
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The Music in Nature Concerts, which were held outdoors in the park during the summer, will not be held this year. However, the University of Illinois School of Music’s Allerton Music Barn Festival in early September is still on.

“Given the university budget and the state budget situation, we’re trying to be as careful as possible. We want to be as careful with our resources as we can,” said Jim Gortner, the park’s associate director.

News-Gazette: Lack of money forces Allerton Park to cut programs
University of Illinois: Robert Allerton Park

At 3:00 am on January 3, we got into vans and traveled to Waveland, MS to help the people that were affected by hurricane Katrina. This was an eye-opening experience. We had romantic expectations of building houses and handing over the keys to thankful residents, but that was not the case at all.

The first day we did very humbling work of cleaning up the campsite – the place where all Katrina volunteers live during their stay. We burned excess scrap wood, moved lumber, and picked up bricks that were scattered from the floodwater. Over the course of the week we did a lot of wood burning, helped one family frame a new house, and helped paint. Some of us helped in the volunteer office with the mounds of paperwork that is needed to sustain a social service organization. Meeting the people that we were helping was the highlight of our days. To talk to them and hear their stories was an amazingly educational experience. I learned more from them than I could in a year in a classroom. I tell you this not because it was fun, but because you must experience a service trip before you graduate.

I went through a Newman Center group, but there are many service organizations on campus, the largest being Alternative Spring Break.

“A lot of students have had this one-track mind. It’s all about me, about partying, about getting good grades,” said Nicki Anselmo, a UI senior and co-director. With Alternative Spring Break, students “can meet other U of I students, explore the world outside their community and give their time.”

Stephens, an engineering student, said he spends a lot of time on the north side of campus and part of what he likes about the program is meeting students from other parts of campus, students with majors different from his.

Alternative Spring Break started in 1989 with a single trip and has grown to include more than 30 trips. Throughout the year about 350 students will participate.

News-Gazette: Students use time off to serve others while on break

Trips for Spring Break are filling up fast, and applications are due by Wednesday, January 28. I highly encourage you to take advantage of this amazing opportunity.

Sunday, October 5 – SOCCERFEST at 11:30 (free food and games), kickoff at 1:00 pm
Friday, October 24 – vs. Penn State – 7:00 pm
Sunday, October 26 – vs. Ohio State – 1:00 pm
Friday, October 31 – vs. Purdue – 7:00 pm
All home games at the Illinois Soccer Stadium

Full Soccer Schedule
“Corner Kicks” Video

What do all of these things have in common? Illini Hockey of course!

The hockey team at the University of Illinois is a great sport to watch, and I encourage all students to try it out. The arena, although slightly smelly of skate foot odor, is great. The Harassing Illini provide background banter while you watch the game the bleacher seats, which are really close to all of the action.

The team is amazingly talented. They were the 2006 champions in their league, and they’ve had winning records for the past few seasons. Tonight I was at the Illini vs. Michigan State game, which went into sudden victory overtime. The Illini saved the game with only 24 seconds left in the overtime period for a 5-4 victory. Awesome.

So when you’re thinking of what to do next weekend with your dad, be sure to stop by the Illini Ice Arena to watch some Illini Club Hockey.