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Category: Found in the Archives

#AskAnArchivist Day 2015 Summary

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Written by Anna Trammell

Yesterday, October 1, was #AskAnArchivist Day when archivists all over the country respond to questions about their collections, the profession, and more on Twitter. Staff at the University of Illinois Archives and the Student Life and Culture Archives answered questions and shared some of their favorite items and images throughout the day. Here’s a recap of some of the questions we received:

What’s the most unusual donation we’ve received? Many student scrapbooks come to us with very unusual items in their pages. Archivist for Student Life and Culture Ellen Swain said she’s seen them with locks of hair, birthday cake, and cigars. Linda Stahnke Stepp and Bethany Anderson of the University Archives added that they’ve seen a slingshot, mouse pelts, and preserved insects!

Tweet Capture Continue reading “#AskAnArchivist Day 2015 Summary” →

The Story of Orange and Blue

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Black and Gold ribbon from Illinois Industrial University, (renamed UI in 1885), 1884
Black and Gold ribbon from Illinois Industrial University, 1884

Written by Ellen Swain

From its founding in 1867 until fall of 1894, the University of Illinois struggled to commit to school colors.

Professor Winton Solberg writes in his history of the University:

For years, uncertainty existed as to the University colors. Many different color combinations had gained recognition, with the Athletic Association making the selection. For a long time old gold and black were accepted, but they were common in other colleges and therefore not a distinguishing mark of Illinois. In the early 1890s, when the athletic coach was from Dartmouth, Dartmouth green was a favorite color. 1

In 1894, UI President Andrew Draper and students met the issue head-on.   Both felt that the University needed a “rallying point” for college activities. Furthermore, the new Engineering Hall was almost completed and the celebration required a colorful display. Continue reading “The Story of Orange and Blue” →

Past to Present: Rush to Recruitment

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Sorority Rush Handbook (1983). Found in Record Series 41/2/63.
Sorority Rush Handbook (1983). Found in Record Series 41/2/63.
Cover of the Illinois Magazine (1922). Found in Record Series 41/20/58.
Cover of the Illinois Magazine (1922). Found in Record Series 41/20/58.

Written by Leanna Barcelona

With the kick off of Panhellenic Formal Recruitment on Friday evening, it is worthwhile to see how the event has evolved over the years at the University of Illinois. A notable difference is the term used to describe the process, the transition from “rush” to “recruitment.” Walking around campus, you are likely to hear both terms used interchangeably, but officially the term is now recruitment. In addition, the term “rushee” has been abandoned and the phrase “potential new member” has taken its place to describe a woman wishing to join a sorority. This is in part due to negative connotations associated with the term “rush.”

Continue reading “Past to Present: Rush to Recruitment” →

The First Quad Day

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Written by Anna Trammell

For over four decades, students have spent the day before classes begin on the quad. Today, Quad Day serves as an information fair where student groups, academic departments, and community organizations promote their services and introduce themselves to students at the beginning of the year. There are over 1,400 registered student organizations on campus and a wide variety of these groups will be recruiting new members this Sunday on the quad. [1]

Quad Day, 1972
Quad Day, 1972

But Quad Day didn’t originate to promote student groups. The first Quad Day occurred in the fall of 1971 as a way of encouraging a sense of community when protests and unrest permeated college campuses. “The war kept getting worse. Tensions escalated…So the lack of people getting together as a community to have a sense of community was a problem. I mean it was just a bunch of people who were angry either at the situation or at each other,” Class of 1972 alumnus Willard Broom said in an oral history from 2010, “But this is a learning community and we should all be learning together.”[2] Continue reading “The First Quad Day” →

Found in the Archives: The Most Popular Girl in School

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Written by Caitlin Stamm

Since its inception, the U of I has been home to many illustrious awards and award-winners. One of the more unique titles, though, was awarded to an Illinois student one hundred years ago.

In April 1914, the Chicago Sunday Tribune named ten girls “The Most Popular Girls in College.” The

Article from the Chicago Sunday Tribune, April 26, 1914
Article from the Chicago Sunday Tribune, April 26, 1914

girls selected represented schools from across the country, from Stanford University  in California to Wellesley  College in Massachusetts. According to the Tribune, the defining characteristic of all of the young women selected was “a gracious democracy.” They wrote, “[E]ach and all of the girls chosen possessed above everything else the genius for democracy. It was their certain loadstone of attraction.” The women were selected after correspondents from the paper sent photographs and a description of each girl, detailing “the traits which accounted for her being the universal choice of her school” [1].

Clara Cronk, From the 1915 Illio
Clara Cronk, From the 1915 Illio

One of the ten women selected was Clara Cronk, a senior at Illinois in 1914. The Tribune described Ms. Cronk as “the most popular girl at the University of Illinois,” who “is a senior, a member of the senior memorial committee, and has always taken a prominent part in class politics” [2]. Continue reading “Found in the Archives: The Most Popular Girl in School” →