Phil Durrett attended the U of I starting in 1965, but left in 1967. He was active in the student protest movement, specifically in the protests against Dow Chemical. Dow Chemical attempted to recruit students to work for the company, but Durrett and others staged a protest to prevent the recruiters from doing so. He was initially expelled from the university but appealed and was instead put on probation. Durrett decided to transfer to Amherst instead of finishing his studies at the U of I.
A group of men who were students and administrators in the late 1960s and early 1970s recall violence and political turmoil surrounding the Vietnam War, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and more. The group also discusses the first Quad Day and Project 500. Interviewees include David Bechtel, Mark Herriot, Daniel Perrino, Willard Broom, and Hugh Satterlee.
Raynard Hall had always knew he wanted to go to college, despite his dad having different ideas for him. He only learned about Project 500 after arriving at Illinois in August 1968. It didn't take long for him to get involved with student activism on campus, although he describes the Sep. 10, 1968 incident at the Union in passive terms: as a "Wait-In" opposed to something more purposeful like a "Sit-In." He remembers having a lot of fun during his time as student, which he attributes to the networking opportunities that being a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity opened up for him. Listen to hear the one piece of advice he feels is applicable to incoming freshmen and outgoing seniors alike.
Robert Outis was a student at the U of I from 1963 to 1968. As an undergraduate, he served as the student government president. Although he was at the university before much of the anti-war and civil rights activism, he was involved with the cause for recognition of a chapter of the W. E. B. DuBois Club. The university’s administration received pressure to prevent the chapter to be recognized as a student organization. As student government president, Outis pushed a resolution through the Student Senate to allow the DuBois Club to use their offices if they were denied recognition from the university. Outis was subpoenaed to appear at a disciplinary committee meeting for his actions.
