Hillel: The International Jewish Organization Founded in Champaign

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Written by Anna Trammell

The Hillel Foundation, the largest Jewish student organization in the world, traces its beginnings to the University of Illinois. In 1921, the young Rabbi Benjamin Frankel began serving in Champaign’s Temple Sinai. [1] Meeting the Jewish students on campus, he observed that they were “passively Jewish” [2] without the proper support and community available to allow their Jewish identity to strengthen during their years of study. “He realized they were without Jewish influence in the most formative years of their lives. He felt that they would go out to lead in their various communities with little thought of their Jewishness and their Judaism,” Rabbi Alfred M. Cohen wrote of Frankel.[3] Continue reading “Hillel: The International Jewish Organization Founded in Champaign” →

Romance and Dance: The Dance Cards of Virginia I. Miller and W. Homer Switzer

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A dance card, from the 1934 Senior Ball. Record Series 41/20/247.
A dance card, from the 1934 Senior Ball. Record Series 41/20/247.

Written by Caitlin E. Crane

As students at the University of Illinois in the mid to late 1930’s, Virginia I. Miller and W. Homer Switzer would often attend dances held by various groups on campus together. The Student Life and Culture Archives recently received a memento of their dances in the form of 35 of their dance cards. Dance cards, or dance programs, were small booklets which allowed women to record their dance partners for the evening. They often came with a tasseled cord attached to the booklet in order to allow the women to wear the programs around their wrist or to attach them to their gowns [1]. While the cards are lovely on their own – often intricately decorated, and recording interesting past social events – the Miller dance cards are made especially lovely by the addition inside many of the cards of a handwritten love note from Miller to Switzer. Continue reading “Romance and Dance: The Dance Cards of Virginia I. Miller and W. Homer Switzer” →

Black Greek Letter Association, Fostering Social Spaces

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Written by Nick Hopkins

African-American students at Illinois have been a statistical minority since the early days of the University. Black students constituted a small fraction of the student population, but contribute a distinct diversity of culture and ideas to the campus community. The Black Greek Letter Association (BGLA), a council of African American fraternities and sororities, is a memorable example of student life and culture on campus. Registered as student organization on December 2, 1972, the BGLA’s mission statement was “To promote black greek unity of organization” and “To improve the quality of social life on the U of I campus.”[1] While the organization did not always see eye-to-eye with various sections of the University, it has certainly accomplished its mission of nurturing a space for greek activities on campus for African American students. Its offspring, the Black Greek Council, exists today as an important section UIUC’s greek social scene. Continue reading “Black Greek Letter Association, Fostering Social Spaces” →

The Keck Family Papers

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Written by Leanna Barcelona

Recently, the Student Life and Culture Archives processed the family papers of Charles E. Keck and his sister, Marjorie Keck Koehler. Growing up, they moved around in Central Illinois along with their father and uncles’ furniture store, Keck Furniture. Each spent time at the University of Illinois and Illinois Wesleyan and were involved extensively in campus life.

Wesleyan Ladies' Quartette, c. 1915. Found in Record Series 40/20/242, Box 1
Wesleyan Ladies’ Quartette, c. 1915. Found in Record Series 40/20/242, Box 1

Marguerite Aileen Keck was born on October 28, 1891 in Decatur, IL, and received her Bachelor’s degree in Music from Illinois Wesleyan in 1915. Marjorie spent a great deal of time performing in musicals and singing at various events. She formed the “Wesleyan Ladies’ Quartette” with friends and they sang at several events, including the Firemen’s Benefit in 1914, as well as church services. She played the role of “Property Woman” in “Contrary Mary” under the direction of Miss Winifred Kates on December 17, 1914. Aside from her musical talents, Marjorie was a straight “A” student and studied French, Italian, and Latin, and petitioned the founding of Pi Delta Phi Sorority, an organization that is now known as a National French Honors Society. In Marjorie’s personal scrapbook pages, a newspaper clipping reads, “Members of the Pi Delta Phi Sorority were pleasantly entertained Thursday night at a slumber part at the home of Miss Margaret Keck.”[1]

 

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Being Black at Illinois

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Written by Caitlin Stamm

In addition to collecting physical items and materials on paper, the Student Life and Culture Archives also collects digital materials, like the photographs and videos in the new Being Black at Illinois record series.

This series documents the efforts of individual students and student groups to bring awareness of racial and political issues to campus in recent months. There are videos, for example, from the #BlackLivesMatter march through campus in December, allying the campus with the protests in Ferguson, Missouri and across the country against racially-charged police violence.

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