STATEside looks 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: November 2 | November 9 | November 15 | November 26
10 YEARS AGO
Illinois State foreign language professor Andre Kapanga says he is leaving the University in January to become an adviser in diplomatic and political affairs for the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kapanga, previously an ambassador for Congo, plans to return to the Illinois State campus in time for the fall 2004 semester, with plans to share with students what he learned during his service in Africa. “If you can touch even one student, then you should be very happy,” Kapanga said.
20 YEARS AGO
The Student Body Board of Directors proposes a major change in how the student government functions. The new body would be called the Student Government Association, and it would consist of executive and legislative branches of government, with various committees. The goal, says student body president Randy Fox, is to increase accountability, with more checks and balances. “This won’t be a cure-all or an end-all. Should the new government be adopted, there may be problems with the system which we have not anticipated,” said SBBD Vice President David DeRousse.
30 YEARS AGO
The hot topic right now in college financial aid is a new federal law requiring recipients to register for the draft. Lawsuits have been filed to stop the law’s implementation, but Illinois State President Lloyd Watkins says the University doesn’t have enough private funds for alternative scholarship assistance, meaning it will not offer funds for those who don’t register for the draft. Kay Jacks, director of financial aid at Illinois State in 1982, says requirements such as the draft are not consistent with the “philosophical purpose” of aid, which is to give money to “those who, without it, could not go to school.”
50 YEARS AGO
A new policy that bans discrimination because of “race, creed, or national origin” in off-campus student housing is introduced. Dean of Men Richard Hulet says that Illinois State Normal University has been integrated for nearly a century, though officials felt the need to “amplify” its non-discrimination policy because of recent large increases in enrollment and the resulting scarcity of adequate housing. At a meeting set in early December 1962, the University will seek cooperation of householders in extending the non-discrimination code to off-campus rooms too.
Ryan Denham can be reached at rmdenha@ilstu.edu.
