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Category: University Trivia

Campus Traditions: Class Colors and the Color Rush

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Color Rush, 1903
Color Rush, 1903

Written by Anna Trammell

We all know that the representative colors of the University of Illinois are orange and blue. For many years, however, students showed loyalty to their individual class by displaying a different set of colors. The tradition of class colors began early in the University’s history. In 1891, the first Color Rush was held. A 1921 Daily Illini article describes the event by saying: “Two poles greased and bearing the class colors at the top were planted about 60 feet apart. Equal numbers of freshmen and sophomores guarded the poles which bore their colors while two other groups, equally divided, sought to tear down the colors.”[1] This battle between freshmen and sophomores, which often ended with injuries and suspensions, was eventually retired. But the tradition of class colors remained. Continue reading “Campus Traditions: Class Colors and the Color Rush” →

Campus Traditions: the Failure of the Practical

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The Senior Bench (1910)
Senior Bench, 1910

Written by Thomas Hendrickson

Years ago, nearly a century now, the University of Illinois campus was rife with traditions that undergraduate classes were supposed to observe. Many of these traditions were written down for incoming freshmen in student handbooks published by the YMCA. These were traditions that involved the Senior Bench, the Gettysburg Tablet, a no-smoking custom, and many more sensible observances. Yet these traditions fell by the wayside due to their inherent practicality.

The Senior Bench tradition dictated that the Senior Bench donated by the Class of 1900 could only be used by the senior class, and this was written in the student handbooks until the late 1920s. However, the tradition did not last long because students began to simply ignore the rule. Freshmen even got into the habit of decorating the bench with their class numerals as soon as the year started.[1] Continue reading “Campus Traditions: the Failure of the Practical” →

An Unusual Sporting Event

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Daily Illini, March 15, 1963, page 13. Donkey Basketball Ad.
Advertisement in the Daily Illini
Student on Donkey. Found in RS 41/67/59
Student on Donkey. Found in RS 41/67/59

Written by Leanna Barcelona

There have been many strange events and occurrences on campus at the University of Illinois, but none quite as odd as the sport of “donkey basketball” that took place in the 1960s. The agronomy club Field and Furrow sponsored an event with the Agriculture Education Club on March 15, 1963 at 8:00 pm that included the unique form of recreation dubbed Donkey Basketball played by students and staff in the gymnasium in Huff Hall.[1] Several advertisements for the event appeared in the Daily Illini newspaper and a short article the day of the game was also published under the title, “No Horsing Around at Huff!”:

Donkey Basketball, heralded as “the world’s craziest sport,” is scheduled to invade Huff Gym at 8 tonight. An actual basketball game played on “donkeyback” will take place between the student organization of Agronomy [Field and Furrow] and Agriculture Education, two departments of the College of Agriculture at the University of Illinois. Staff members of each department will compete in the first half with students taking over in the last period. Rules for Donkey Basketball are similar to those used in ordinary basketball except their are only four players (and four donkeys) to each side. The primary object of the game is to get the ball through the hoop, but, as it turns out, a secondary object is to stay on the balking and bucking donkeys.[2]

Continue reading “An Unusual Sporting Event” →

World War II and University Housing

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Men's Old Gymnasium (c. 1942-46)
Men’s Old Gymnasium (c. 1942-46)

Written by Thomas Hendrickson

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor the United States launched itself into World War II and, like many universities and colleges throughout the States, the University of Illinois was fully engaged in mobilizing its resources for the war effort. New military-student programs began to be set up immediately. Before the end of the next semester (Spring ’42) the Navy had constructed several different military training programs at Illinois: a Naval Signal School, Diesel Engine School, and Diesel School.[1] By mid-summer the U.S. Army had also created the Army Specialized Training Program. Thus by the summer of 1942 military students/trainees outnumbered civilian students at the University of Illinois.[2]

Temporary Housing (c.1946-47)
Temporary Housing (c.1946-47)

This influx of programs and students had a profound impact on University Housing for the rest of the decade because Illinois was now exceeding its student carrying capacity. So much so that despite having just completed the Men’s Residence Halls in the autumn of 1941 the housing situation was over-encumbered. To make space University Housing had to get creative. They re-outfitted the women’s hall of Busey-Evans for military personnel and more classrooms, set up the Great West Hall of the Stadium to hold classrooms, and fraternities were obligated to house military trainees for a short time. To meet the student dining needs the University began serving meals from various locations, including the Illini Union ballroom. This was still not enough and the Housing Division had to take over the Men’s Old Gymnasium and use it for temporary housing and more classes.[3]

Continue reading “World War II and University Housing” →

Beckoning Forward: The Extraordinary Life of Carlos Montezuma

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Wassaja (Carlos Montezuma) circa 1885
Wassaja (Carlos Montezuma) circa 1885

Written by Anna Trammell

In 1871, a group of Pimas took a young Yavapai boy named Wassaja captive. From there, he would begin on a journey that would eventually lead him to Urbana, Illinois. Political activist, writer, physician, and the first Native American graduate of the University of Illinois, his legacy is far-reaching.

Wassaja, a term that could be translated to “beckoning” or “signaling,” was born to the Yavapai in Arizona circa 1867. Drought in the area around this time and the appearance of settlements encroaching on Native American land contributed to an increase in violent clashes between the Yavapai and the Pimas. It was in such a clash that Wassaja and his sisters were taken captive. Shortly thereafter, he was sold for a sum of thirty silver dollars to Carlo Gentile, an Italian immigrant and photographer. [1]

Gentile gave Wassaja the name Carlos Montezuma. After Gentile’s quest for gold proved fruitless, the pair spent time in several locations before settling in Chicago. It was there that Montezuma found himself briefly working as a performer in an early Buffalo Bill stage production. The association with the production only lasted a short time and by 1875 Carlos was completely focused on his studies.[2]
Continue reading “Beckoning Forward: The Extraordinary Life of Carlos Montezuma” →