Memory Lane: The Streak
When 12,000 people showed up on the Quad one night in March 1974, you could have easily mistaken the gathering for an REO Speedwagon concert or a protest against President
Memory Lane: Film lover’s Delight
In our push-of-a-button, tap-it-and-stream-it world of today, it’s easy to forget that not so long ago, a movie night meant getting off your couch, going to the local video rental
Critical Thinker
The official title of the course Psych 598 is the Personality Journal Club. But its participants know it as PIGIE: Personality Interest Group, Including Espresso. Once a week, psychology professor
Illini 411: Did U of I students fight for women’s suffrage?
A: You betcha—and from way back, too. During the University’s early years—we’re talking 19th century, here—suffrage was one of the most popular debate topics between the women’s and men’s student
Flu Fighter
For about a decade now, Nicholas Wu has thought about ducks. He’d long known about avian influenza and other infectious diseases. Wu was in elementary school in Hong Kong in
Being Black At Illinois
When the University of Illinois celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1968, only 1 percent of the student body was Black. African Americans had been on campus for nearly all
The Black Illini Experience
When the U of I celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1917–18, there were more fraternities and sororities on campus than Black students. When the centennial celebration came in 1967–68,
Illini 411: Why is there a pineapple at the top of Foellinger Auditorium?
A: Don’t reach for your paring knife just yet—Foellinger’s pineapple is 4-1/2 feet tall and made of copper. In the mid-1980s, when Illinois renovated the nearly 80-year-old building, local contractor
Illini 411: How many Illinois alumni have won the Oscar for Best Director?
A: One, but he’s done it twice. Ang Lee, ’80 FAA, won Best Director for Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Life of Pi (2012). (He was also nominated for Crouching Tiger,
Memory Lane: An Underground Lair
As the proverb says, all good things must come to an end. And of all the good things at Illinois, few were as beloved as the Undergraduate Library (UGL), the
