Description
A May 18, 1968 Daily Illini article about one of Chancellor Jack W. Peltason’s “Chancellor’s Chats” events where he spoke about Project 500 and SEOP. Peltason painted the program as a facet of “educational reform” and said the program’s qualifications were not racial, but for disadvantaged “people who otherwise might not have this opportunity” for a college education. Peltason explained that the program would feature a high number of black students because African-Americans were disadvantaged as “a result of society's discrimination.” He also drew parallels between Project 500 and the University’s programs for the physically disabled, saying the school’s educational standards were not lowered for the physically handicapped and will not be lowered for SEOP students. Furthermore, he compared preparatory and skill-development courses for disadvantaged students to therapists the University provided for physically handicapped students saying about potential SEOP students, “You don't have to be much of a teacher to teach superbright students” and “It takes a scholar to make a scholar.”