DeKalb, Illinois

Hello, everybody. I'm a 20-year-old college student from Ohio who is transferring to Northern Illinois University this January. I have visited the campus a few times and met with staff/advisors etc. and the whole college community seemed very welcoming.

I was wondering if any of you who live in the area or know of the area could possibly give insight into what the overall attitude of the city of DeKalb's citizens are, regarding liberalism, democratic values, progressive-ness, etc.? (and I do know that Dennis Hastert represents this area :) )

Also, I have had little interaction with the students that attend NIU, other than those at the orientation program. Are NIU students open-minded, etc.? I'd like to know how the campus is, in regards to GLBT students (I'm homosexual, and I feel that NIU looks like it would be supportive and enlightening place to come out of the closet.....it's inevitable that I have to come out, I was hoping that NIU would aid me in this process).

It's tough to be in the closet, but I feel I am gaining enough courage to tell my family and friends in a few months. I just want to know if there is a decent population of GLBT students at NIU, because I am definitely coming out at NIU first.




Thank you, to all in advance!




PS. Your freeways and tollways around Chicago have terrible traffic! I guess I'll have to get used to it, though. And the stop-and-go toll booths are crazy (Tri-State and the Ronnie Reagan). Oh well, I guess I'm just used to rural Ohio :)

Welcome to Illinois!

My son will be attending NIU in Sept 06. The students we know that go there are very happy and seem to be open-minded; however what it's like to be a student there I really couldn't say.

My son marches to his own drummer and has never fit in with the norm; he has visited the campus a few times and is really looking forward to attending the school as he feels that people will be more accepting of people who are different.

I think you will be happy there.

Cheers!

From what I understand, it's liberal and you should have no problem

"Your freeways and tollways around Chicago have terrible traffic"

LOL, there's another thread here about lousy IL drivers. Drive defensively

I am not from dekalb and only graduated from mcc jr college..
I just wanted to welcome you to our state. Take care and good luck to you.

And I've been to DeKalb many times.

I think that you'll find that a lot of NIU students are from the Chicagoland area, so even though DeKalb is located in the middle of a corn field that goes on forever seemingly, the scene in and around DeKalb itself is pretty hip. Not as hip as Northwestern or DePaul, but not bad.

And since it's only an hour or so from Chicago you'll have no trouble getting into the city where you can enjoy the best life has to offer....museums, restaurants, etc.

BTW, ironically they're called "expressways" in Chicago, not freeways. :rofl:

for those of us who appreciate open space, Dekalb is becoming one more casualty in the war on a decen quality of life. It's becoming a suburb, with every cahin store you can name, all built on land that used to grow food and be home to deer, 'coons, and other wildlife. So, it's okay if you like traffic and really believe the quality of life in Chicago is better than in the country (a worldview I simply can't grasp). Dekalb isn't Chicago (yet), but it's certainly becoming a suburb. Sadly.

It'll be interesting to see how these folks who like to drive miles and miles to work will live once we run out of gas. Maybe they'll all move back to Chicago--leaving more empty big box stores behind.

first of all, no self respecting dem calls it the rr highway, it is rt. 14. it is not that important of a road.
second, you are not that far from aurora, where i was raised. now, i know it has changed a lot since i was there, but i think it is still a "small big city". maybe more so than when i was there. there were gay bars there 25 years ago. so, i think you can always to there.
i think that, cornfields not withstanding, college towns are college towns. and de kalb would be a wide spot in the road without the college.
good luck. i hope you can make the trek in for a meetup some time.

Thanks everybody for your comments. I appreciate everyone's insight and I feel even better now. I've been on vacation to Chicago before and enjoyed all of the museums and scenery. The first time I've ever been to Chicago (proper) I was really surprised how clean the downtown was. No wonder Chicago is one of the few older-major cities that continues to grow!

And those "expressways" don't actually become expressways until Aurora westward and Valparaiso eastward LOL :)


Thanks guys (and ladies)!

live 40 miles west on 38. dekalb sucks. you shouldn't`t have any problems fitting in to the student life. dekalb has zero nightlife so it`s either north to rockford or east to st charles-geneva-batavia for nightlife and culture.downtown chicago is just alittle over an hour away and the suburban scene about half hour away. best bet-study like hell thru the week then get out and "party" on the weekend! good luck at niu and have alot of fun!
check in thru the year and if ya have any questions i`ll be glad to answer.

...She is concerned that many of the students are conservative.

They grew up with rights and take them all for granted.

I just attended a meeting with the Dekalb County Democrats.

Dekalb has a Democratic mayor, and a number of Democrats on the county board. The Democrats there work closely with the college Democrats at NIU. Get involved in politics there. You will make friends, and find out about attitudes that way. They probably have an active GLBT community, because NIU is a large school. I don't know anything about them. But the Democrats there can surely point you in the right, I mean left, direction.

Enjoy your time at NIU!

My wife also is an NIU grad. Welcome...and, as others have said, we refuse to call I-88 the "Raygun Highway" (my daughter says that's the stretch from Dixon to Rock Island...nothing but farm fields).

DeKalb is a very underestimated school...with an excellent business and education school...comprable, if not better, than the U of I. It's can be somewhat "conservative", as many students come from suburban Cook county...but overall, I found then, and now, the school is politically apolitical. This was even the case in the 60's...there weren't any riots at NIU...the kids just went home.

There's always been a solid Democratic party within the city of Dekalb...outside is as red as Kansas, but things are changing. Lots of new housing is going up as that's where the "starter" housing line for the metro area is at now.

If you're looking for wild nightlife, as suggested, head to Chicago...but I found the quiet of the town and the nearby rural areas to be very refreshing. Lots of neat history in the area and the campus has lots of activities going on.

In "my day", I ran the school radio station and was aware of a pretty active GLBT community...and that was eons ago.

Good luck...welcome to Illinois.

Cheers...

I cannot wait until January 13th comes (move-in day)!


And KharmaTrain........I know exactly what you mean about the peacefulness and quietness of a small town with a big city near by. That is exactly how my home is in Ohio. I live in a rural/semi-suburban area and Cleveland and Toledo are about the same distance from my home as DeKalb is to Chicago. I honestly enjoy the small-town life, but I guess you have to take the small town ignorance that comes with it. But it is no big deal to me.


I am just excited to get to Chicagoland and get out of Ohio-land! :)

Hi, I am not from Illinois but just moved here to go to SIU, Carbondale. I just wanted to say good luck with coming out! Hopefully you will find the transition easy and people will support you! Best Wishes!