"Tallest Hotel on Campus"
residence
University of Illinois Archives
image
A Daily Illini article from May 1968 on UIUC Chancellor Jack Peltason's descriptions of Project 500
SEOP
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.”
Daily Illini
University of Illinois Archives
Illini Publishing Company
May 18, 1968
University of Illinois Archives
text
A Progress Report on Developing a Procedure for Handling Disadvantaged Cases (February-March, 1968)
Disadvantaged Students
This document identifies what qualified a student as educationally disadvantaged. It also outlines what qualifications students needed to meet in order to become part of the program. The university visited many high schools to recruit students to enroll. The university used students from the Black Student Association to recruit new students.
Margaret H. Imila
University of Illinois Archives
February- March 1968
.jpeg
English
Document
Accessibility at UIUC
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois has continued many affirmative action policies since the inception of Project 500 in the 1960s. Pictured is an official newsletter stating the policies of affirmative action for the University of Illinois in 1974 (bottom). Accessibility is a big issue today. Many students that are admitted need extra support, and they can find that at the University of Illinois Office of Diversity, Equity, and Access (top).
UIUC Office of Diversity, Equity, and Access
UIUC Office of Diversity, Equity, and Access, UIUC University Archives
UIUC Office of Diversity, Equity and Access
1976, 2013
text
Admission Statistics Graph
University of Illinois
This graph shows the increase in the minority population of undergraduates at the University of Illinois since the creation of Project 500. The enrollment increases steadily throughout the 1970s and 80s. The biggest increase comes in the Asian American demographic, most likely due to the diasporic movement of Asian Americans from the West Coast to the Midwest. The Latino population has been steadily increasing most likely due to immigration. As a whole, however, the minority population has leveled off over the last two decades. The African American community at the University of Illinois has actually begun to shrink relative to the size of the University. No one is quite sure why this is, only that it could be an issue in the future and could call for action at a later point.
Joseph Bennett
UIUC Division of Management Information
UIUC Division of Management Information
2010
image
African American Athletes Before 1968: Claude "Buddy" Young
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CZA0g_sQcqY" frameborder="0" width="480" height="360"></iframe>
Video: Claude "Buddy" Young Scores a Touchdown Against Pitt (1944)
Racist attitudes were prevalent on campus and in America in the 1940's but sports fans were willing to make exceptions to cheer for exceptional black athletes. This video shows African American running back Claude "Buddy" Young scoring a touchdown against Pittsburgh in an October 1944 game to the cheers of whites in the audience. However, it is important to note that not even athletes were exempted from racial discrimination in businesses and housing as even Buddy Young could not get his hair cut in the white barbershops of Champaign.
"Buddy Young run vs pitt - YouTube." YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZA0g_sQcqY (accessed May 7, 2013).
October 21, 1944
After the Arrests
race relations
University of Illinois Archives
text
Photo
Broken Glass
race relations
University of Illinois Archives
image
Campus Report
The Special Educational Opportunities Program At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
This edition of the Campus Report explains the purposes and goals of Project 500. It was published shortly after the events at the Union. Because of the date, it can be seen that regardless of the incident, the University of Illinois was hopeful for success with Project 500. This Campus Report describes the Special Educational Opportunities Program as an experiment to bring in more disadvantaged students. 565 accepted admission and enrolled. Many of these students were admitted even though their class ranks and GPAs did not meet the minimum requirement although they had to show some proof of academic excellence. Once the semester started, they were able to take part in programs including tutoring services.
Office of the Chancellor
University of Illinois Archives
October 23, 1968
.jpeg
English
Document
Citizens for Racial Justice News Release
University of Illinois Employment
Prior to Project 500, Champaign's Citizens for Racial Justice were pressuring the university to hire more minority employees, particularly black citizens.
Citizens for Racial Justice
University of Illinois Archives
May 6, 1968
.jpg
English
Still Picture