University Apartments Residents' Action Committee Building Community in the Hawkeyes |
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Advice for new residents and their families:
UI students have several options for health insurance. If you are an international student and you have children who were born in the US, you might be able to get them free insurance by applying for Medicaid (Title 19); insurance provided by the government for low-income citizens and permanent residents. If you do not qualify for Medicaid, you may qualify for Hawk-i Kids which also provides free or low-cost health insurance for children. However, if you work for the state of Iowa (which includes the university, then you may not qualify for Hawk-i Kids). If you are a graduate student, you can get UIGradCare, a nice, comprehensive plan that was orginally created by COGS. Both graduate and undergraduate students can get SHIP (Student Health Insurance Program). If you have children under age 5, then you qualify for WIC (Women, Infants, and Children), which provides your family with free checks every month for nutritious foods that you can get at grocery stores all year or at the Farmers' Market in summer. WALGREENS pharmacy is a 5-10 minute walk from Hawkeye Court. It has most of the basic foods and other products, as well as medicines. A little more expensive, it's great if you need to pick up a few items. The closest large grocery store to University Apartments is FAREWAY on Mormon Trek Blvd, which is closed on Sundays. There are several Asian grocery stores in Iowa City: Chong's Market, GREAT WALL. Great Wall also carries imported Mexican food. If you are looking for HALAL foods, try AFRO-ORIENTAL/TAYEEB FOODS & CAFE behind Peking Buffet, or try the Halal pizza restaurant next to the Hy-Vee in Coralville. The cheapest grocery store in Iowa City is ALDI's on South Gilbert Street. CAMBUS provides free bus service to campus and the hospital. However, there are some useful tricks to know about riding Cambus that can save you time, energy, and peace of mind! Learn the schedules for the Hawkeye Routes. You can get a schedule on the bus, or on the internet. If the Hawkeye Express is running, it's the best bus to catch. If you are near the Old Capitol and you don't want to wait for the Hawkeye-Interdorm, then you can take the RED ROUTE bus or PENTACREST to the hospital area to try to catch the HAWKEYE HOSPITAL home. This trick works well during the day. Also, you can catch the PENTACREST, get off at the parking lot after Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and then walk home to Hawkeye Court on the Finkbine trail, a concrete nature trail behind the softball fields and track. This trick works best for Hawkeye Court because it's closest. You can also use this trail to WALK or BIKE all the way to campus; it takes about an hour to walk to the Old Capitol, less to the hospital; 15-30 minute bike ride. Be cafeful at night; there's a blue emergency phone on the trail near Mormon Trek. If it's raining, cold, or too hot, you can wait inside the door at Schaeffer Hall and watch for the bus through the window. Residents have many recreational opportunities nearby. If you like to play soccer, people play at the Hawkeye Recreation Fields spring, summer, and fall. You can play informally or in a formal league: the IOWA CITY SOCCER LEAGUE. If you want to play informally, the best evenings are Tuesday and Thursday, when the Hawkeye Soccer Club is usually practicing. Feel free to join them. Basketball, ultimate frisbee, flag football, volleyball, and lacrosse are also played at the fields. Check with UI Recreational Services for more information. If you like to run, the UI's ATHLETIC TRACK is close to Hawkeye Court, next Walgreens and the softball fields. There are also nature trails for walking, running, and biking; the Finkbine trail behind the athletic track, a concrete trail through MORMON HANDCART PARK, and a new trail all the way connecting the Hawkeye Parking Lot to Coralville. Mormon Handcart Park is a beautiful park for enjoying nature. If you like to run on a softer surface like grass, you can run around the huge Hawkeye Rec Fields or on UI's new 5 kilometer CROSS-COUNTRY COURSE next the Hawkeye Rec Fields and Hawkeye Parking Lot. Laundromats with coin machines can be found in the basements of the following buildings in Hawkeye Drive: 340, 430, 540, 630, and 740. There are no laundry facilities in Hawkeye Court apart from hook-ups for washers and dryers in each apt, and outside clotheslines. There are two private laundromats close by; one off Mormon Trek by Fareway, and another across the street from Peking Buffet and Walgreens. Adequate child care at the university is a big problem for student-parents (and their children!). Many resources for student-parents can be found at 4Cs. Head Start and HACAP are other options. Some grandparents and homemakers care for children in University Apartments. By Iowa law, you can care for 1-2 children without a license. However, University Apartments policy discourages this convenient and very helpful service. Parents have suggested that the university take advantage of this on-site babysitting service and make it official. English as a Second Language (ESL): There are many opportunities to learn English in Iowa City. Some are free and some charge money. The University of Iowa ESL Programs offer several options. The Iowa Intensive English Program (IIEP) is an excellent way to learn English and become oriented to the university. Although the IIEP is the most expensive option in Iowa City, it is probably the best for serious students. The UI also offers summer courses in 450 Hawkeye Drive, which are free and taught by TESL students. You can also find a private tutor by calling UI ESL Programs, (319) 335-5630. Kirkwood Community College offers adult ESL classes in Iowa City churches. They also offer Intensive ESL within the college. Some private churches have their own ESL courses as well. |