In this short history, alum Aja Beckham discusses the creation of the student organization "Being Black at Illinois," first campus memories, and the resources that the university provides. This oral history was recorded as part of the ongoing Oral History project and conducted in partnership with the University of Illinois Library Archives.
Charles “Charlie” Meyerson arrived at the U of I in fall 1973 as an aspiring journalist. He lived in Allen Hall/Unit One for his first two years and considers it a “seminal” part of his college experience. In this interview, he discusses journalism, the WPGU radio station, student life, his broadcast career, and the effect that U of I has had on his life.
Connie Penda-Eggelston was born in Chicago in 1948 to well-known musicians. Her older brother, a Project 500 Recruiter, convinced her to come back to the Illinois in 1968 after she withdrew from the University from her first term starting in 1966. She was a member of BSA and participated in the September 10, 1968 Union Demonstration. Participating in cultural programs and actively engaging with Champaign black youth were how she spent her time as a student.
David Bechtel was a student at University of Illinois during the early 1960s and eventually became an assistant dean in charge of men's residences in 1969 before he moved to the undergraduate career center in 1972. Hugh Satterlee served as an administrator in various capacities from the 1960s to 1980s, including Dean of Students. In this interview Bechtel and Satterlee discuss their experience dealing with student turmoil on campus.
In the first of six interviews, Eisenman provides details of his educational experiences at Harvard and the University of Illinois, including his work reporting on the Illini Union protest on September 10, 1968. He also describes his work during the UI centennial and the creation of scholarship funds for students who could not otherwise afford the fees required to attend UIUC.
Eisenman discusses the differences in campus culture between the University of Illinois and Harvard. He also describes the academic environment at UIUC, with a particular focus on faculty in the sciences.
Eisenman discusses the discontent certain faculty members and students felt during the centennial year regarding the quality of education at the University of Illinois. Of major concern was the length of time it took for new courses to be approved, which Eisenman found discouraging during the Vietnam era, a period of rapid change.
Audio recorded by David Eisenman, Assistant Dean of Students from 1968 to 1970, during the years of Project 500. It includes his assessments of the implementation of Project 500 as well as the resulting conflicts, and touches on his first-hand accounts of the protests by African American students against their placement in sub-standard housing in the first weeks of the program.
