Every week, we use STATEside to take a look back at the recent and not-so recent past, using the archives at the Vidette.
If you recall any of the campus happenings referenced in our This Week in Illinois State History feature, feel free to post in the Comments below.
Previous weeks: September 28 | Homecoming week | October 12 | October 19
10 YEARS AGO
The Student Government Association continues working to establish a student-run tenant union, designed to help those living off-campus find information about their potential landlords, and to track complaints against landlords. The SGA has already approved sliding money over to Student Legal Services and the Student Advocacy director to put the tenant union service in place. The goal is to have a union in place by July 2003. “It sounds like a great system that will definitely be an advantage for students deciding to live off-campus,” says senior mathematics education major Jonathan Powell, calling the tenant union idea long overdue. Ten years later, the SGA now sponsors the Off-Campus Student Association, with the goal of improving off-campus living for those in the Bloomington-Normal communities. You can even find leasing company reviews and reports on OCSA’s website.
20 YEARS AGO
Residents will vote next week whether to ban smoking in the informal lounge at Dunn and Barton halls. The Central Campus Residence Government referendum came at the request of the residents themselves. Students can now smoke in their rooms (except for the second and fourth floors of Barton), but the informal lounge is the only other place in Central Campus to light up – for now. The vote comes two years after students banned smoking in the Walker Hall lounge. “Most of the people who are upset (about the Dunn-Barton vote) are obviously smokers who feel that this is a threat to their lifestyle,” said CCRG President Timothy Wilson. Today at Illinois State, smoking is prohibited inside all buildings and facilities, University vehicles, and within 15 feet from building entrances and exits.
30 YEARS AGO
In a letter to the editor, junior political science major Lisa Jensen tries to find a middle ground in what she calls an apparent “war” over parking between two local businesses: the White Horse Inn and the Corner Cafe. Four eating establishments share that same parking lot, with the White Horse and Corner Cafe sections directly adjacent. But Jensen says the line is blurry (or non-existent) between those two sections, because they’re unmarked, leading students’ vehicles to be towed away unfairly. “Come on, guys. We do our part by coming to your restaurants and paying the bills. Now it’s your turn. It’s time for a little cooperation and a little common sense,” Jensen writes.
50 YEARS AGO
The Illinois State Student Senate takes a timely stand in support of collegiate civil rights, approving a resolution that condemns the University of Mississippi for its handling of the James Meredith case. Meredith in 1962 became the first African American student admitted to the University of Mississippi, a key moment in the American civil rights movement. “The Student Senate of Illinois State feels that it is the duty of student governing bodies to, above all, support the civil rights of university students without consideration of race, color, or creed,” the Illinois State Student Senate resolution reads. The resolution “severely” condemns the administration and faculty at University of Mississippi for “failing to take an active part in the realization of civil rights at that university.”
Ryan Denham can be reached at rmdenha@ilstu.edu.
