Crossing the Midway Plaisance and other Burton-Judson Convenience Questions

Colleges & Universities University of Chicago
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<p>So here’s the map I’m using when asking all of these questions: <a href=“http://maps.uchicago.edu/pdfs/campus.pdf[/url]”>http://maps.uchicago.edu/pdfs/campus.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I was wondering how much of a hassle it was to cross the Midway Plaisance to get to the quads.</p>

<p>I picked Burton-Judson as number one for my housing app, since the Dining Commons is attached and it has singles rooms. It’s also closest to the law school, and, I’m assuming, the law library. I’ll probably be spending a lot of time there, hopefully for guidance or maybe, if luck holds, a schooltime internship.</p>

<p>Since I’ll be spending most of my college time taking social science classes, I decided that I didn’t need to be too close to where the “action” was in the hard sciences (namely, from what I see from the map, the North-er sides of campus). However, they still remain right across the Midway Plaisance. Can anybody tell me how long it takes to get across? Is it an annoying trip to take back-and-forth? How bike-friendly is the university as a whole (ESPECIALLY in the winter with snow)?</p>

<p>I also noticed that I’d be quite a while away from the Crerar and Regenstein libraries. Is this going to burn me later? Would I, as an undergraduate, be able to access the law library, and would that be sufficient? How big is the nearest computer lab to B-J? Does my proximity to the law school and its resources make up for my distance from the main quadrangles (especially giving my upcoming frosh status)?</p>

<p>I’m a morning person and I’m hoping to schedule my classes then. I read that each dorm has its own meal plan. So that means I’ll never be able to eat at Bartlett, right? Also, I noticed a shopping cart symbol on Bartlett. Does that mean that there’s a grocery store there too? Excluding Bartlett, what’s the closest thing to B-J Courts resembling a Rite Aid, Lucky, or even Wal-Mart?</p>

<p>Burton-Judson apparently also seems to be near construction. Does anyone know how loud it’s going to be?</p>

<p>Thanks for answering all of my questions, guys. I really appreciate it.</p>

<p>Crescat scientia; vita excolatur!</p>

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<p>I’m in BJ, and can answer any and all BJ-related questions.</p>

<p>First, campus is a lot smaller than it looks on that map, and getting from BJ to anywhere will take you 5-10 minutes. About 3 minutes to get to Cobb (SW corner of the quads). It takes me 10 minutes to get from Ratner gym to my shower (yes, I actually time this one). Ratner is on 55th and Ellis, 5.5 blocks from BJ.</p>

<p>There used to be a way for BJ students to go from their rooms to the law school through underground tunnels and never go outside. This was way cool for students, but way not cool with housing. So it goes. You can, though, still use the law library.</p>

<p>The whole campus and neighborhood is scaled for feet, and it’s even better for bikes. Chicago is wonderfully flat, and though it’s cold, you will still see girls with high heels and skirts and their messenger bags biking around. You’ll see Dean Boyer in a full suit, riding his bike around campus with an austere expression on his face. Bikes= college. A bunch of my friends are really into it and bike downtown for lunch, movies, etc. all the time.</p>

<p>Speaking of walking, the people who complain the most about it are the residents of Max East, who are about 40 paces from food, 40 paces from the library, and about 90 paces from the gym. They will complain more than any Shorelander or Broadviewite. It’s a fact of life.</p>

<p>As a freshman, you will have Bartlett dollars, but you will also have meal points to BJ, which offers great breakfast fare.</p>

<p>The shopping cart sign at Bartlett is “Bart Mart” (Maroon Market). My friend says that there’s a part in Leviticus when Man receives Bart Mart as a gift from God. I don’t know if that’s true-- I haven’t read the bible. Bart Mart is very overpriced, but it’s part of your meal plan, so you’re not really paying for that $6 box of Lucky Charms.</p>

<p>The construction noises haven’t bothered me. They did most of the noisy stuff last summer, and the dorm will probably be complete sometime in the next year. It looks like it’s going to be a really stunning building, and it does not overpower BJ’s majestic South-of-Midway presence, like a lot of us feared it would.</p>

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<ol>
<li>Deep breath.</li>
<li>You’re fine.</li>
<li>:)</li>
</ol>