Written by Nick Hopkins
The University of Illinois Student Life and Culture (SLC) Archives maintains documents spanning the entire history of the university. It is particularly focused on the experiences of students. Its collections include documents and photos of student organizations, Illio yearbooks, and sorority and fraternity publications, as well as a great deal of other student sources. The SLC Archives puts the history of student life at UIUC at the fingertips of visitors, for student projects, enjoyment, and professional research.
The SLC Archives also presents an opportunity for students to become part of this history. Students may donate papers of their organization to be archived in the Student Affairs series. Submitted materials are processed and boxed by archives staff, like myself, and are publicly available to view.
Preserving student history is important. One of my favorite student organization collections is the African-American Cultural Program Publications series. These sources are cited in UIUC alumna Joy Ann Williamson’s history of African-American student experiences and Project 500, Black Power on Campus: University of Illinois, 1965-75. The documents allow Williamson to tell the story of black students at a racially contentious time in both university and U.S. history.
Student-produced materials document student life and can end up being significant historical sources. Archiving organizational documents also ensures that they will be kept safe for decades to come. For graduating students, this means that a record of some of their most rewarding undergraduate experiences will always be available for them to peruse.
I am giving papers from students organizations the I have been involved with during my undergraduate career for these reasons . They include an informational flyer for the Prison Justice Project, a student organization concerned with incarceration in U.S., a Quad Day flyer for Phi Alpha Theta history honor society, and a hand-out for C.U. Succeed Mentoring, a volunteer program which mentors youth involved with the Champaign County juvenile justice system. It is important to me that these documents are preserved, as they represent a good deal of my time and effort at the University, and I hope that they get some use in the archives as sources for future researchers.
Any student interested in having their organization’s papers archived may contact SLC Archivist Ellen Swain at eswain@illinois.edu, or by phone at (217) 333-7841.
Nick Hopkins ’15 served as an undergraduate assistant in the SLC Archives from 2013-2015. He graduated from Illinois with a degree in history and sociology this May.
Joy Ann Williamson, Black Power on Campus: The University of Illinois, 1965-1975. (Urbana, University of Illinois Press. 2003)