(Ethan Tate)

As you enter the apartment at 55th and Hyde Park, the projector is on your left. Straight ahead, a canvas covered with what looks like multi-colored sponges hangs on a wall. When I ask about it, Julian Antos urges me to take it off their hands: “I just hate feeling like my home is an art project.”

Sponges aside, the apartment that Julian shares with Rebecca Hall feels like an extension of their own project—the Northwest Chicago Film Society (NWCFS), a nonprofit they and a third partner, Kyle Westphal, started in January 2011. According to its mission statement, the Society “exists to promote the preservation of film in context.” Its founders believe that film’s “ability to capture the past uniquely” is more “intelligible when it’s grounded in unsimulated experience: seeing a film in a theater, with an audience, and projected from film stock.” To achieve this goal, the NWCFS runs a classic film series on Wednesday nights for five-dollar admission at the Portage Theater on North Milwaukee.

In addition to the series up north, Becca and Julian host occasional screenings in their apartment, drawing films from their vast personal collection. Though they emphasize the difference between their living room screenings and the society’s public series at the Portage, Becca points out the new NWCFS logo she designed and spray-painted onto her bedroom door. Julian offers a cookie from the open packet of Chips Ahoy sitting on the kitchen table, brought to the previous day’s screening by one of their “favorite patrons.”

The weekly series at the Portage draws a crowd of regulars, many of whom first got to know Becca and Julian when the screenings were held on Saturdays in the now-empty Bank of America Cinema. That program, the Classic Film Series, began in 1972, and persisted in that space around the corner from the Portage as the building’s owners and the programmers changed over the years.

Becca discovered the Bank of America Cinema as a University of Chicago student through her involvement with Doc Films, the university’s student-run film society. “It was legendary among the [Doc] board in 2007,” Becca says. “Once I got to know them, I got to tag along.” She describes it as having “a really weird set up.” According to Becca, “You had to walk around to the back of the building, and there was this quaint little movie theater lobby.”

Becca soon began working at the cinema, and that is where she and Julian first met. “Julian, in my head, was that happy kid who would come with his parents and buy popcorn from me,” she says. Michael Phillips, who now runs South Side Projections and programmed at the cinema for its last few years, eventually brought Julian on to help out. According to Becca, he thought having a high-school kid around would annoy her, but the two quickly became friends. “He was like, ‘I’m going to screen this print of “The Black Cat” in my basement,’” Becca remembers, before asking Julian: “There was a live performance aspect, right? Your parents’ weird friends’ children?”

Both the programmers and patrons were conscious of the cinema’s uncertain fate. “People kept saying that every season for the last year and a half of the Bank was the last one,” Becca says. They began exploring options for continuing the series at a new location. “We were holding out on incorporating [as a nonprofit] until we found a space,” she says. They were introduced to Dennis Wolkowicz, the owner of the Portage Theater, who runs the Silent Film Society in that location. The last screening at the Bank took place on December 18th, 2010, and the NWCFS officially incorporated as a nonprofit on January 21st.

“It was clear that Dennis wanted to see us doing things at the theater,” says Becca. “His love is old films. I think he likes seeing cultural history-oriented programming happening.” In one post on the Society’s blog, Kyle describes the “archaeological aims” of programming a calendar.

“Maybe that’s what we should have called it, the Archaeological Film Society—everyone would think we show dinosaur movies,” says Julian. Neither Becca nor Julian remembers exactly what made them settle on the moniker “Northwest Chicago.” “We didn’t have much time when we were getting started,” Becca says. “I thought it was because we kept fighting and wanted to stop fighting,” Julian responds.

Julian has been collecting film since he was sixteen. The apartment he and Becca share was inherited from a former Doc Films Programming Chair, and the collection is stored in his old bedroom. The room is small and narrow, making the humidity level and 60-degree temperature easier to maintain. It barely fits two desks, a shelf that’s “half-organized,” and a closet holding canisters upon canisters.

“Julian’s just temperamentally a projectionist, he yearns to be in a small dark room with machines,” says Becca. Her interest in film preservation began when she began projecting at Doc Films. “As I was learning, I started hearing little things, sometimes from Kyle, about how because of digital technology’s rise, film stock might not be around for so long. So I was thinking about this the whole time I was learning about it, and these came together to make it seem quite important,” she said in an interview with Michael Phillips for the Chicago Tribune. “We’re still waiting to see if 35 mm, especially, continues to be available from conventional sources, so we’re looking at a lot of ways to make sure that we can keep doing that, including amassing our own film collection.”

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Kyle, who works at the George Eastman House, the museum of photography and film in Rochester, New York, writes regularly for the Society’s blog. He has devoted a series of posts to the importance of 35mm as it relates to their mission. In a blog post titled “Programming: How To Do Things With Films”, Kyle writes that “the industry-wide switch from 35mm to DCP exhibition is expected to be completed in the next two years.” The Digital Cinema Package, according to a February article in The Atlantic, is “a collection of media files with specifications set by the Digital Cinema Initiatives, a joint venture between Disney, Fox, Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal, and Warner Bros.”

The cost of the equipment used to project these files amounts to over $75,000—a bill impossible for many small theaters to foot. “These exhibitors are clinging to 35mm because it allows them to use existing projection equipment with minimal and rather predictable maintenance costs. It’s an incidental objective,” Kyle writes. “Showing films in 35mm is a mission on a different level of magnitude for repertory venues.”

In the interview with Phillips, he explains that the “film history that we’re often interested in, this very material physical sense of film history, is where you’re learning something not just by seeing it on screen but by actually holding it in your hand, winding through it, and making, in many ways, artistic decisions about how to present it.”

These decisions are evident in the Society’s choice of venue—“We talk about different series that’d be good for the Portage, or good for Cinema Borealis,” says Becca. The Borealis is a small independent screening room in Wicker Park. They talk about a recent five-hour program they screened there called “TV on Film,” explaining how 16 mm prints were used in television broadcasts. Julian recalls a screening of “The Incident,” a 1967 movie, featuring a young Martin Sheen, about young punks taking over a subway car. Because of the Borealis’ proximity to the Damen “El” station, “you could hear the train going by.”

“At an older theater it becomes a different kind of experience,” Becca says of the Portage and Bank of America. She describes the films in that series, a series which continues “in spirit” at the Portage, as “classic but obscure.” Former Bank of America Cinema programmer Mike King wrote in a goodbye tribute posted on Cinephile, a website devoted to Chicago independent cinema, that the series was a testament to the fact that “in order to fully grasp American film history, you have to venture well beyond the canon.”

He goes on to write that though the Bank showed “mostly old movies to mostly old people, the Bank [was] no nostalgia house.” What’s special about the movie-watching experience at the bank or Portage does not only have to do with the choice of film, or even just the fact that it’s on 35mm: “Take a film like ‘The Lady From Shanghai,’” King wrote. “When it plays at Doc Films at the University of Chicago, the undergrads laugh straight through it, to prove how smart they are. Go see it at Gene Siskel Film Center, and nobody laughs at all, as if they are humbled by how smart the film is. At the Bank, people would laugh along with the jokes. But also chuckle at first hearing Orson Welles’ wretched fake Irish accent. Because it’s funny.”

The NWCFS’s mission statement speaks lovingly of “the creak of the seats, the smile of the concession stand girl, the ripped edges of a ticket.” It continues, “going to the movies should mean more than watching a consumer product violently cajoled into filling a theater screen….We believe that it is an experience—aesthetic, material, social, and moral—worth preserving.”

Now, however, the Portage is threatened. CBS 2 reports that a North Side church, the Christian Tabernacle, has offered $2 million for the building, which contains the theater and a few storefronts. The Commission on Chicago Landmarks gave the theater “preliminary landmark status” in early April, and the Zoning Board of Appeals met on April 20 to address the issue. According to the Portage’s website, the church proposes “to convert the theater into their worship space, remove the marquee, alter the auditorium, and eliminate the storefronts and half the apartments.”

Community members and 45th Ward Alderman John Arena are rallying around the historic theater, writing letters to the Zoning Board of Appeals protesting the church’s request for a special use permit to allow for religious services in the theater. The Portage’s website urges community members to attend the Board’s June 15 meeting where the proposal is to be considered.

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But for now, Julian has just found his “intermission reel”—a collection of old advertisements for concessions he’s spliced together—and he wants to watch it. The apartment’s screening area is currently doubling as a bedroom for one of their roommates; a button-down hangs next to the screen and a desk is in the corner. The couches sit on a stage left by the apartment’s previous occupants. There’s a crash as Julian loads the film. “You scared the cats!” Becca yells from the couch.

“I feel like it still hasn’t sunk in for the general public yet, that there’s a person literally making the show happen,” she says. On the website, they’ve collected pictures of projectors drawn by projectionists. Their answer to the anticipated question —“Why this project?” reads: “Because the future of the medium is particularly uncertain these days, we’d like to record a sense of the skill and affection involved in every level of the trade.”

Becca talks seriously about her “fantasy,” that someday “repertory screenings will get their due;” that listings, the general public, and film critics will acknowledge the difficulty of obtaining certain prints, the particular choices programmers make, the combination of visceral experience and cultural history that lend these films a unique value beyond the stories they tell. “But we still believe in concessions,” Julian jokes. “Popcorn is economically important.” Becca adds that the Portage serves beer, wine, and hot dogs. “People don’t know that!”

Behind Ondaatje’s light-hearted demeanor is an enduring history of printed works which have brought complex emotions, empathetic characters, and moving landscapes to inspired readers for decades. His most well-known book, “The English Patient,” centers around a burn victim with hardly any knowledge of his identity, and explores the intersections of several histories and characters. The English Patient garnered the Man Booker Prize for Ondaatje, who explained at his talk that the book started with a simple setting. A patient in bed, a nurse, and the two talking—such situational elements comprise what Ondaatje calls a “keyhole” to the content of his novels.

Ondaatje, white-bearded, looked every bit the part of the authorial sage. He spoke of the writing process, and how his mind spawns a novel from a well-visualized setting—which he relies upon to provide the underpinnings for characters, themes, and plot. He also read a few selections from his poetry collection “Handwriting,” and some new fiction. With gentle intonations and an unstirred focus on his creation, Ondaatje presented three passages from “The Cat’s Table,” which was published in 2011. He shared some excellent insights, expanding on the importance of setting to his writing, and he admitted to having no official process, or formal understanding of how he writes. As evidenced by the precisely constructed work he recited, Ondaatje remains an artist in every sense of the word.

The expression “we are the 99%” is perhaps the Occupy movement’s most polarizing asset. Journalist Zeeshan Aleem, representing Occupy Chicago, praised the movement’s diversity, noting the inherent difficulty in having a single panelist speaking for so large a group. He shared his vision for the movement as a form of agitation from outside the current political arena that could ultimately push the system toward change. Aleem pointed out that in the wake of Occupy, corporations have begun to change their PR rhetoric, choosing words like “freedom” over “capitalism.”

Representing the UofC Democrats, Sam Baron had different ends in mind. “I’m not sure how much Occupy has done besides change the political discourse,” he said.  For Baron, a self-described member of the 99%, but only a “highly sympathetic outsider” to the movement, the Democratic Party was still the best means of enacting change in favor of the American left. “I’m asking for a movement that is radically less sexy than what’s taking place,” he acknowledged.

In true Occupy fashion, the roughly 30 attendants played a major role in directing the debate. More than once the panelists abruptly stopped talking when someone from the crowd made a face, and the audience’s “questions” were usually prefaced with lengthy, heated remarks and historical clarifications. Beyond being mere points of debate, however, the questions repeatedly hit upon matters of definition.

“Is Occupy ‘the left’?” asked one woman, confused by the various uses of the term that had been thrown around. Later, another audience member, responding to Baron’s criticism that Occupy lacked a clear purpose, asked with a knowing grin: “What’s the Democratic party’s purpose? Hope? Change?”

In his closing remarks, Aleem tried to bring the discussion back to its original purpose, suggesting that Occupy “might be something other than the left.” But the war over words could not be put away that easily. After the debate, a member of Students for a Free Society stood by the doorway handing out fliers. “Are you interested in liberty?” he asked.

Maggie Sivit

Jacob calls me and says, “Hey, there is a special watch out, can I pick you up in five?” It is 45 minutes earlier than when we had planned to meet for a ride-along and the urgency in his voice is palpable. He pulls up to my apartment at 10pm, and I hop into the passenger seat of his roomy, rust-colored SUV. He fiddles with the vehicle’s GPS and pulls up a grid of streets from 51st and Ellis to 57th and Lake Park, an area where police have noticed a string of street robberies. “That’s a pretty big area,” he laughs, “so let me take you to the HP Knights’ favorite spots.”

Three University of Chicago undergraduates who don hoodies instead of shining armor, wield UCIDs instead of crests, and iPhones instead of lances may not be the epitome of medieval warriors, but these three students take to the streets with bravado and a passion for service. As often as four times a week, the Knights ride out from their shared south-of-the-Midway castle, following the dispatches of the University of Chicago Police Department.

As we head to the inner streets of a residential subdivision at 55th and Stony Island, Jacob adjusts the knobs on his crackling police radio. The feed is primarily silent now, though we sometimes hear a quick call from the dispatcher and brief responses from unit patrols confirming their location. In the first long patch of silence, Jacob sternly says, “I want to be clear: we are not vigilantes. We are far more interested in sharing information than in getting involved first-hand.”

Their efforts rely primarily on Twitter, where their tweets about police activity, alerts, and safety tips are delivered to more than 170 followers. “People want to hear what’s happening,” said Jacob. “We see ourselves as journalists, in a way.” Their operations began at the beginning of this academic year, when the three close friends, after days of excitedly listening to the police radio in their apartment, decided to go out on the streets themselves.

When more than one Knight is out on “patrol,” there is a designated Twitter updater, Jacob explains. Otherwise, the driver will stop at the side of the street and update. “Our Twitter is a great way to get real-time info—probably the only way—if you aren’t logged on to a computer listening to a live feed.”

As we idle on 55th Street the radio picks up a bit more, with units checking bike racks along the Midway. “You know, that’s one thing I wish the University students were more aware of. The UCPD does so much more than just ride around and break up parties. They keep an eye out for cut locks and suspicious activity around the bike racks that have had a lot of theft.” An officer radios in to the dispatcher for “a personal” stop and Jacob chuckles: “He’s probably going to the bathroom.” Throughout the night, Jacob mentions the trends he has noticed: more alerts in the 51st and Ellis to 53rd and Lake Park grid and more action in warmer temperatures. It is clear the Knights are infatuated with law enforcement, as each explanation is laced with admiration and enthusiasm.

We’re now at 62nd and Cottage Grove. Jacob points to the side of the road: “A whole car was shot out here this summer.” In the same breath, he points to the Logan Arts center. “Look at how close everything is, you can see Logan and the UC Hospital from where someone shot a gun…it’s crazy.” But the proximity between these brand new safe-spaces and gunshot violence is what drives the Knights to monitor suspicious activity when they can, or simply drive around, shining their bright headlights into Hyde Park’s many alleyways. “All this crime doesn’t mean we have to be afraid. Hyde Park crimes are very much crimes of opportunity –unlocked apartments and walking alone—being aware and safe can help a lot.”

After an hour and a half of driving by a few traffic stops, navigating several alleyways, and watching over three parks, we are ready to call it a night. Just as Jacob drives up my street to drop me off, the dispatcher calls out a “suicide and threat to others at 55th and Everett.” Jacob speeds (within the speed limit, of course) to that intersection, silently waiting for more information. The dispatcher continues, “Subject might be intoxicated and witnesses said he threatened to kill himself.”

At this moment, Jacob and I both lay eyes on the subject. There are no squad cars in sight, but the man continues to stumble and walk west on 55th in the middle of the intersection. Jacob pulls into a parking space in the intersection, turns off his headlights, cranes his neck around his seat, and says, “We’re here before the units. Where are they? I’m calling this in.” He deftly dials the UCPD number on his iPhone and speaks to the very same dispatcher we have been listening to all night. He describes the subject’s clothing and location and we hear her calling out to her units on the radio. A squad car shows up, lights and sirens blaring, heading west on 55th Street. The car, in full pursuit, makes a quick turn south on Everett. But the man just took a turn north on Lake Park.

Jacob, still on the phone with the dispatcher, quickly relays the subject’s new movements. “Wait, wait, your unit just turned south, and the subject is headed north!” Again, she relays the directions to the unit and they are able to apprehend the subject. Jacob smoothly maneuvers and drives slowly westward, away from the squad car and subject. Before we head too far away, we see two unmarked units appear with sirens and lights, ready to aid the unit already on the scene. Jacob finds a quiet spot at a safe distance from the activity to idle while we listen in on the radio. In classic HP Knights fashion, he pulls out his iPhone to tweet. We hear that the police successfully detain the man and run his identification. He is an ex-Latin Kings member on parole status, with previous charges of being armed and dangerous.

Both of us are silent, shivering with adrenaline for at least five minutes. With a slight grin, Jacob turns to me and says, “Nani… I’m addicted to this.”

The three Knights relish their rides and hope to spread the word on UCPD action, but have kept their nightly thrill-seeking in check. “We love action! That feeling when you hear the dispatcher call out an address…It’s fun for us to follow, but at the end of the night, it’s better for all of us in the community when it’s quieter on that radio.”

*Jacob asked for his last name to be omitted. The Weekly does not endorse the activities described above.

Security deposits: When you first sign a lease, you will have to pay a deposit generally ranging from one to two months’ rent that protects the landlord against damages to the apartment. You are entitled to a receipt, so make sure you get one. At the end of your rental agreement, you will get the deposit back, provided the apartment is in good shape. Before deducting expenses for damages, the landlord must provide you with an itemized list of damages. Upon moving out, you can request a walk-through with your landlord to inspect the apartment. If the landlord withholds your security deposit unfairly, you may sue the landlord to reclaim it. It’s a good idea to take pictures of the apartment both before moving in and upon moving out as proof.

Landlord access to your apartment: Landlords cannot enter the apartment without notice, but tenants are expected to permit reasonable access upon receiving two days notice from the landlord. In the case of emergency, the landlord may provide notice two days after the fact.

Damages/failure to maintain property: Landlords are responsible for maintaining the property and providing the services outlined in the lease. If they fail to do so, you have two options. You may request that the landlord make repairs within 14 days, and withhold a reasonable amount of your monthly rent if they fail to do so. Or you may arrange to have repairs done and deduct the greater of $500 or half a month’s rent (without exceeding a month’s rent).

Subleases: For summers or study abroad, you may opt to sublet your apartment. By law, the landlord must accept a reasonable subtenant without requiring additional fees.

Rent: If you are late on rent, the landlord can charge a late fee of up to $10 per month on rents under $500, plus 5 percent per month on the part of the rent that exceeds $500.

Moving out: The landlord cannot require you to renew your rental agreement more than 90 days before your lease expires. If you are moving out prior to the end of the rental agreement, the landlord must make a fair effort to find a new tenant. Keep in mind: if a new tenant does not sign on, you are responsible for the upholding the lease. If you leave property in the apartment, the landlord is not allowed to dispose of it. He or she must store it safely for at least seven days. Only the sheriff may remove your belongings, after the landlord had gotten permission from courts.

Evictions: It is illegal for landlords to lock you out or change the locks unexpectedly, or cut off heat, utilities, or running water. If this happens, notify the Chicago Police and the landlord may be fined. However, the landlord may sue for eviction for not paying rent, damaging the apartment, disturbing neighbors, or violating your lease. If you are late on rent, the landlord must give a written notice allowing you to pay rent for up to five days before suing for eviction. If you pay your rent within five days, they must accept your money. If you violate your lease, the landlord must tell you in writing what you have done and give you ten days’ notice.

The bottom line: While an oral agreement counts as a lease, sign a written lease and keep a copy. Go over the lease before signing and make sure it does not provide for anything that contradicts the laws stated by the RLTO, such as excessive late fees on rent. Take pictures of the apartment before moving in and upon moving out, in case of a dispute over the security deposit.

For more information on the tenants’ rights listed in the Municipal Code of Chicago visit chicityclerk.com/tenantsVRSlandlords.php. For legal help, visit the Center for Renters’ Rights, a Chicago-based nonprofit, at renters-rights.com. For general advice see the Metropolitan Tenants Organization at tenants-rights.org  (Sasha Tycko)

I didn’t have any place I could keep my stuff and after some meditation, I figured out what I think to be sheer brilliance—every weekday I would wake up in Harper at 6:30 and walk to Ratner to work out and shower. I monopolized a day locker with a full two weeks’ worth of clothes, my schoolbooks, and a blanket. In my backpack, I always had a travel toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant and cologne. At least I didn’t smell like I was homeless.

Aside from my toiletries, I always had my Leatherman multi-tool, which came in handy for making spoons out of plastic water bottles and such, a composition notebook, and Uniball Micro .5mm ink pens. These were my essentials. I didn’t really store things in the library because there wasn’t a sense of security about leaving random belongings in random places.  On weekends, when the library was closed at night, I would usually party until sunrise, find a bench or vent to nap on for two or three hours, and then go find a couch in Reynold’s Club to pass out on for six hours.

I did a lot of exploring in the Harper Towers last spring. During my late nights in an empty building, I found the poems and thoughts I wrote in my composition notebook began to focus on feelings of freedom and an adventurous determination to live! I really loved the invigoration of having no one place to call “my home,” and I felt as though I was getting all of the pearls this oysterous world had to offer.

I starting writing a lot of raps and recording them on my Macbook in the Harper classrooms—one night a security guard stopped by and commented that he was feeling my freestyles. I made some good friends with late-night Harper folk, which was nice because it sure could get lonely in there. The security guards knew to let me back in from smoke breaks even though I didn’t have a working ID card and they were always pleasant.  I had a blanket with pandas on one side and bamboo shoots on the other, and one night I had passed out and my blanket had apparently fallen off.  A beautiful, lovely friend of mine told me that she tucked me in before she left for the night.

I had no cares, no worries, no stress—I lived each and every day simply for what it was. I thrust myself into a world where the only way to live happily was to thrive in the enveloping magnificence of life’s unpredictability. That was both the best and the worst part about the whole voyage. I gave up the comforts that we take for granted and plunged headfirst into cold, deep, dark, lonely waters. It was scary. Have you ever not known when your next chance to charge your computer or phone would be? That is scary. You’d think a body wouldn’t have been able to relax! And I managed. Taking that dive, I came up on a brilliantly bright, white sandy beach, drinking a Corona as the crisp, warm salty sea-air stung my face. I saw so many sunrises. I learned to float, as a leaf, on life’s river. I was free.

Unfortunately, my parents weren’t as convinced that I was living the Good Life, and once Susan [Art] (dean of students in the college) found out and politely informed me that you can’t just live in the library, my Harper Living journey came to an end.  I then found myself subletting a tiny room at 54th and Ellis, and that’s a story for another time.

While renting an apartment or living in University housing may be the default choices, there are other alternatives

The three houses make up Qumbya, a Hyde Park association of co-ops. Haymarket, the first Hyde Park Co-op to open in 1989, is home to a tight-knit group of twelve, not counting pets. Bowers, a yellow-bricked beauty that was a mansion at the turn of the century, is the largest of the three with 24 residents. The most recent house to be incorporated into Qumbya is a Queen Anne-style three-floor flat with a kitchen on each level and 19 current residents.

Rents range from about $350-530, depending on room size and amenities. On top of that, there’s a $190 monthly charge that covers food, utilities, and Internet.

The number of co-op members is always in flux, and house cultures change with the people living there. But some things—like communal decision-making and house rules—have remained remarkably stable. All three co-ops are vegetarian friendly—all group meals must have a vegan option, and when ordering communal food in bulk, they cater to herbivores. Meeting protocols and house responsibilities like weekly chores have been codified and passed down (but can be altered with a vote). House traditions—including folk music concerts, bondage soirees, and prank wars—and tales of past members constitute a kind of hallowed co-op lore.

The words “cooperative living” tend to bring to mind your pony-tailed uncle’s stories of bongo circles and free love, but that’s not really the case at these co-ops. Within the Bowers community alone are three married couples, one retiree, and a giggly blonde toddler. “We’re not all fucking and doing ecstasy,” notes Beth Topczewski, who lives in Bowers. They do host some racy parties, and ask that all prospective housemates be accepting of homosexuality and moderate drug use. Another Bowers resident, Meghan Sullivan, says, “All of the stereotypes [of co-op living] have been violated for me, but not consistently.”

While co-op living has a more regulated system of chores than one would encounter in a normal apartment situation, many residents see value in the “social pressure” it provides. Taking up residence in an intentional community means that everyone pitches in, which can actually cut down on domestic labor in the long run. And the co-op provides an “instant social network,” according to Topczewski. There are always people around the house, and it’s a good way to make friends. In the end, says Bowers resident Kayla Higgins, “life can be more peaceful with a lot of people.”

Bowers House, 5130 S. University Ave.

Concord House, 5225 S. Blackstone Ave.

Haymarket House, 5405 S. Ridgewood Ct.

Visit qumbya.com for more information and to download an application.

Living in a fraternity allows brothers to have “quality fun through doing dumb things we want to do,” says a brother of another fraternity on campus. Examples of this “quality fun” include building an eight-person igloo during January’s snowstorm or constructing a four-story beer bong. Some fraternity brothers regularly visit the “better” Harold’s Chicken Shack on 65th Street, Others have an arsenal of jokes about a cat lady neighbor. One brother had his romantic life “mildly infected” by Zac Efron after his friends put a poster of the teen star over his bed.

These are the ties that bind. It may be that bonds such as these are unique to fraternities, where a group of self-selecting college males share one space.

A healthy mix of second-, third-, and fourth-year residents offers a more diverse community than the dorms, which are often heavily populated by underclassmen. Older brothers are always on call for advice on classes, internships, and professors. Living in a frat house provides a social network of continual motivation, which applies to studying, going to the gym, or increasing your count on the house pull-up bar. Filled with cracked leather couches and posters of suave men and rap groups, the Sigma Phi Epsilon living room is at once a movie theater, trash basketball arena, and a late-night study room. AEPi brothers love their top-floor homework haven, which they have proudly outfitted with whiteboards and study resources.

While apartments may be isolating, and dorms too big to allow intimate social groups to form organically, the fraternity house provides both a sense of brotherhood and a social scene. Plus, living in an all-male environment means never being afraid to walk around in your boxers.

But the houses do have a few unconventional complications. Hosting huge parties is obviously a fun, raucous, potentially profit-turning endeavor, but it does come with a down-side. One SigEp brother explains that he once found a girl searching for ramen in his room during a party. The brothers have locks on their doors for this reason. While cleanup after parties is often a contentious issue for those living in frats, cleaning charts and house managers help facilitate the process, keeping the houses cleaner than might be expected. Many fraternities employ cleaning services that come once a week. In fact, some frat brothers speak of their cleaning ladies as affectionately as they would a member of their family.

But if man is anything he is adaptable. After all those loud parties, Krishna Ravella says, “I can now sleep through anything… which may be a good thing or a bad thing…” But for Ravella, a second-year in Psi Upsilon, the thumping bass of house music is worth it. “When I was choosing, I was considering location, cost, cleanliness and who I would be living with. I expected the house to take some getting used to—weekends would be loud; cleanliness-wise, it could be dirty. But it’s totally been worth it” Ravella raves.

Rabinowitz agrees. “I expected the mess, the cleaning after parties as a second-year,” he says. “I lived in a basement room, but have you seen the top floors? Sparkling wood floors, flatscreens…it’s worth it.” Rabinowitz is also appreciative of the active Jewish life his fraternity offers. Other fraternities are known to house athletes on the same University teams, which has its advantages: brothers with big games and meets prepare together, whether with an earlier quiet hours request or a large family style carb-loading meal.

Frat house rent is, on average, much lower than the UChicago dorms and rented apartments. Though most brothers have reconciled the difficulties, there is one awkward situation Ravella reveals he and his pledge class did not consider: “It’s always funny, because girls don’t always want to come into a house filled with 25 guys—it’s intimidating.” Most importantly, consider the entry and exit points: “In Psi U, there are only two doors. If a brother hooks up with a girl, and he wants to sneak her out in the morning, it’s really hard. It takes a lot of getting used to.” Luckily for Ravella, this isn’t much of a problem: “I have a girlfriend, so it doesn’t really matter to me.”

MAC

Locations: Nearly 80 properties throughout Hyde Park and Kenwood

Amenities: Range widely depending on the property, but may include balcony, dishwasher, bike room, hardwood floors or carpeting, granite countertops, air conditioning, sunroom, a laundry center, private parking, fireplace, and fitness center. All apartments include heat, water, and 24-hour maintenance.

Rent Range: Studio: $600-800; one-bedroom: $800-1000; two-bedroom: $1000-1500; three-bedroom: $1400-1800; four-bedroom: $1700+; five-bedroom+: $2500+

Pros: The company has a huge selection, so just about anyone can find an apartment that suits their needs. Their website contains detailed descriptions of each property, including photographs and a floor plan, and you can quickly set up an appointment to visit the apartments yourself.

Cons: There may be “24-hour maintenance,” but residents have complained that MAC is very slow to respond to issues.

User Comments: “There were only two washers and dryers for the whole building…one set of washer/dryer broke partway through the year, and MAC didn’t fix it for months despite repeated pleas, so the entire building had only one washer and dryer.” “The maintenance service is elegant and the rooms, which are invariably shaped like ovals in a flawless 1950′s style, gives the whole experience a very modern feel.”

Notes: It’s MAC. You’ve probably heard a few horror stories about it. Nevertheless, the facts are that around 10,000 students in Hyde Park live in a MAC apartment, and the renewal rate for apartments is 60%, above the industry average of 50%. Also, note that MAC owns apartments that may include a seperate, non-MAC staff in addition to MAC’s own, or special amenities not found in other MAC apartments. Windermere House, for example, has its own on-site maintenance staff, and a 24-hour front desk. Other MAC-owned buildings include the Blackwood, Regents Park, the Algonquin, the Shoreland, and Del Prado.

Contact Info: MAC Apartments, 1364 E. 53rd St. (773)548-5077, macapartments.com (Sharon Lurye)

Regents Park

Location: The tall buildings at 5020 – 5050 South Lake Shore Drive between 50th and East Hyde Park.

Amenities: Amenities are a selling point for the Regents Park apartment complex.  The development’s North Tower features a fitness center with a 20-yard lap pool, whirlpool weight room and sauna, as well as a restaurant. Meanwhile, a small grocery store and the Regents Cup, a coffee shop with Wi-Fi, are located on the first floor of the South Tower. For whose who own a car, a garage has parking spaces which can be reserved for a fee. The fact that the complex is home to a range of people—from graduate and undergraduate students to long-time neighborhood residents—also sets it apart from the buildings of the student ghetto.

Rent Range: Studio: $1015-$1250; one-Bedroom: $1150 – $1585; two-Bedroom: $1550-$2100; Three Bedroom: $2025-$2450; four-Bedroom: $3100 – $3200

Pros: Situated in East Hyde Park, Regents Park is a stone’s throw from public transportation: a #6 stop is located at the intersection of 51st Street and East End Avenue and there’s a Metra entrance at the viaduct on 51st Street. During the academic year, the East Route shuttles past the building.  Some tenants enjoy views of Lake Michigan and the city, especially from upper floor apartments (the South Tower has 36 floors and its Northern twin has 37). And the Hyde Park Art Center, a BP gas station, and Istria Café are all a block away, while Harold Washington Park is directly south of the complex.

Cons: While a fair share of students choose to live at Regents Park, the buildings are a considerable distance–about a thirty minute walk, give or take–from the UofC campus.  Living in the complex also comes at a price: rents have increased since last year and utilities are not included.  And soon after new management arrived last October, tensions with staff over wages led to a strike, which resulted in the firing—and, after residents protested—rehiring of workers.

User Comments: “It’s very easy to go to campus and also go downtown, which is the difference between Regents Park and the dorms. Of course, the view of Lake Michigan is very pretty.”

Contact info: Regents Park LLC, 5020 S. Lake Shore Dr. (773) 288-5050. regentsparkchicago.com (Jeffrey Bishku-Aykul)

Del Prado

Location: 5307 South Hyde Park Boulevard, 2 blocks from the lake and the Metra

Amenities: New on-site fitness center, hair salon, dry cleaning, common lounges, laundry center, and bicycle storage. Units offer stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and a dishwasher.

Rent Range: Studio $973-$1,105; One-bedroom $1,195-$1,365; Two-bedroom $1,418-$1,675; Three-bedroom available starting in July, projected around $1,800

Pros: Built in 1918, Del Prado was historically one of the classiest hotels on the South Side. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, residents enjoy the original grand staircases and intriguing Native American-themed architectural flourishes, as well as the chance to rub shoulders with the ghosts of Babe Ruth and Yogi Berra, who stayed there to play the White Sox. Last year’s renovations have fully modernized the interiors and appliances; the electrical and plumbing systems are brand new. Proximity to 53rd Street shops means accessible shopping, and a Metra stop provides a quick route downtown.

Cons: The location is a solid 20-minute walk from the quad, and rates are on the high end for a typical student. In addition, Del Prado is no party house—most current tenants are far past the cacophony and shenanigans of their own wild college days.

User Comments: “The newly renovated building is beautiful, the staff is incredibly friendly and the view cannot be beat!”

Contact Info: The Del Prado, 5307 S. Hyde Park Blvd. (888)471-7014. thedelpradoapartments.com (Bea Malsky)

Parker-Holsman

Locations: Throughout Hyde Park and South Shore

Amenities: The extra services and facilities vary from building to building.

Rent range: Studio $580-850; one-bedroom $775-1100; two-bedroom $950-1500; three-bedroom $1500+

Pros: The company is on top of its game in terms of organization and response, trying hard to respond to tenants’ needs in a timely manner. They also primarily manage buildings constructed before 1930, giving residents the opportunity to glance into Hyde Park’s storied past. While having an older stove may not always help with even cooking, they are much more attractive than the standard white box from Sears.

Cons: The buildings host a range of residents—students aren’t the main target. Instead, grad students and families abound. This translates to a lack of tolerance of rowdy student conduct, so be prepared to accept a lot of responsibility for one’s actions and a noise curfew. Depending on your taste, the cheap Van Gogh reproductions may be an annoyance.

Notes: Parker-Hoslman also manages and sells a significant number of condo units for those who are looking for a more permanent housing option. (Tyler Leeds and Isaac Dalke)

Mr. Lin

Locations: 56th and Drexel, 55th and Dorchester, two buildings on 56th and Maryland, various other listings around the neighborhood.

Amenities: Rent covers heat, water, and the internet, and electricity is included with condos.

Rent Range: Studio $850; two-bedroom $700 – $1250; three-bedroom $1600 – $1700; four-bedroom $1800 – $2100

Pros: On-site laundry, locations right next to campus, and a friendly landlord willing to negotiate with tenants. You could shoot an indie film on the skylit spiral staircase at 5635 S. Maryland.

Cons: No pets, Mr. Lin can only be contacted over the phone, and the listings are variable and sometimes unusual. Maintenance may also be spotty.

Notes: Neither Yelp! nor Google have any information on Mr. Lin’s Apartments or Edlin Realty. You’ll have to call Mr. Lin to get details on his current listings. Leases are annual and start in either June or September.

User Comments: “He keeps his books on paper. It’s not at all electronic. So it’s kind of weird in that way… When he fixes things, he’s not the best Mr. Fix-It, but then he’s easier to work with. The university was really slow about paying me for a couple different things, and then I told Ed Lin about it, and he told me, ‘All right, pay me when you get the check.’ As you can see, it’s not the nicest looking apartment, but I do prefer it to MAC.”

Contact: Call Mr. Lin at (773) 241-6854. (Nathan Worcester)

Blackstone

Location: Several properties on 54th & Woodlawn

Amenities: Heat and hot water are included. All units have hardwood floors, communal washers and dryers, and bike storage rooms. Some units have parking. Blackstone’s maintenance on-call and emergency hotline are both available 24/7. Units are freshly painted for new lessees.

Rent Range: two-bedroom $1100; three-bedroom $1700; four-bedroom $1800.

Pros: Most units have new cabinets and appliances. Aside from that, the location is a big plus. Blackstone’s apartments are close to campus, and nearby Kimbark Plaza has a grocery store and a number of different restaurants. Public transit is also easily accessible. Blackstone’s management office is located on the same street as the properties, so if you want to talk to the company about your apartment, you can walk there in your slippers.

Cons: All of Blackstone Management’s properties are located on one street, so if you’re looking to live beyond 54th and Woodlawn, this is not the company for you.

Notes: Blackstone Management has been in business since 1988 and only has properties in Hyde Park, so they know the area and the needs of local residents well. They rent properties primarily to students and faculty at the University of Chicago, but also have clients who attend Columbia College, Harold Washington College, and other local schools. Blackstone properties are family-friendly due to their close proximity to Ray Elementary School.

Contacts: Blackstone Management, 5413 S. Woodlawn Ave. (773)667-1568. blackstonemanagement.com (Madalyn Frigo)

McKey and Poague

Amenities: Because McKey and Poague do not own their buildings, amenities vary from building to building. Some have hardwood floors, laundry rooms and bike storage; it all depends on the building in question.

Rent Range: Studios $580-$1000; one-bedrooms $600-$1500; three-bedroom $800-$1,700; four bedroom $1,540-$1,750

Pros: McKey and Poague is a small company that’s been serving students looking for housing for over a century. They are located adjacent to the university and describe themselves as “pretty much a part of campus”-clearly, they are very eager to serve students.

Cons: The M&P website promises “constant personal contact with unit owners to bolster their continued intellectual as well as financial interest in the building.“ We don’t really know what that means either, but according to some tenants, the landlords “are in the dark ages” in terms of customer service.

User Comments: “Basically you walk into their office is straight out of the 1960s. They have no voicemail and they have no email. You can only call them during operating hours and they are closed on the weekends. If anything happens you are f***ed.”

Contact Info: McKey and Poague Real Estate Services, 1348 East 55th St. (773)363-6200. mandpoffice.com (Becky Stoner )

TLC

Location: Across Hyde Park; they also manage properties in a number of North Side neighborhoods

Amenities: Vary by building

Rent Range: Studio $660-805; one-bedroom $865-960; two-bedroom $1245-1280

Pros: Kudos have included an attentive and cordial maintenance staff, consistent bug spraying, excellent security, and personable managers.

Cons: Complaints have included a hefty fee for A/C installation, burned out bulbs, reluctance to fix locks, lack of reluctance to litigate, overpriced laundry machines, and malfunctioning elevators.

Notes: TLC Management Company (not to be confused with the Turner Learning Channel) is low on octuplets and the near grizzly sightings of former Alaskan Governors but high on class. At least, that’s the gist of their ads. The company recently acquired two new apartment buildings in Hyde Park, which they have classily christened The Flamingo and The Versailles.

Contacts: TLC Management Company, 100 N. LaSalle, Suite 1200. (312)553-9070. chicagorentals.com (Chris Riehle)

Mueller, a priest from the UofC’s Orthodox Christian Fellowship, came to bless rooms in honor of the recent feast day of Theophany. The holiday celebrates the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, and according to Orthodox tradition, the practice of blessing the home represents the ongoing sanctification of the material world.

Mueller has performed the annual blessings at UofC dorms for four years. As of Friday morning, he had blessed seven rooms and expected to carry out nearly 20 more by the end of winter.

In one room, Mueller began to sing in front of a makeshift altar he placed on a desk. The tenants participated in the ceremony, contributing names of deceased loved ones and listening to the prayer. Mueller placed the incense stick into the bowl of holy water and showered the room, droplets splattering across dressers and walls.

The students stepped forward to receive the priest’s blessing. Mueller dampened their heads with holy water as he held up a carved wooden cross. He then anointed the doorway with oil and once more sprinkled water on the heads of the students.

Though they had different reasons for requesting the room blessing, the students enjoyed the ceremony. One resident, Alexandra Mathews, explained, “Growing up with the Orthodox tradition, I always feel a bit of comfort when my house gets blessed because it provides security.” For some of the other, though, this was a new experience. Alexandra Bassen, who is not Eastern Orthodox, got her room blessed because she thinks “It [is] a culturally enriching experience.”

The oil, bowl, stick and cross returned to Mueller’s bag. He then departed, passing a pile of pink pillows and a display of paper cutout snowflakes, on his way to bless another room.