{"id":626,"date":"2014-08-29T16:29:37","date_gmt":"2014-08-29T16:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/archives.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/?page_id=626"},"modified":"2026-02-27T20:19:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T20:19:53","slug":"1950-1959","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/research-education\/timeline\/1950-1959\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Life at Illinois: 1950-1959"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>1950-1959<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_717\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-717\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2014\/08\/0003221.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-717 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2014\/08\/0003221-300x238.jpg\" alt=\"Cheerleaders, circa 1951\" width=\"300\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2014\/08\/0003221-300x238.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2014\/08\/0003221.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-717\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cheerleaders, circa 1951<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><strong>1950<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Controversy occurred over whether University should recognize American Youth for Democracy, an affiliate of the Communist Party. President Stoddard ordered that recognition for group be given.<\/li>\n<li>Mechanical Engineering Building opened.<\/li>\n<li>Student Community Interracial Committee surveyed students\u2019 opinions on desegregated housing.<\/li>\n<li>First women cheerleaders appointed.<\/li>\n<li>Mildred Fogel crowned Homecoming Queen. As &#8220;Barbara Bain,&#8221; Fogel later would star in the TV series &#8220;Mission Impossible.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>1951<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Student Community Interracial Committee dissolved. The Student Community Human Relations Council&#8211;a new anti-discrimination group- organized.<\/li>\n<li>Committee on Student Discipline demanded immediate resignation or removal of Sigma Delta Chi officers following publication of<em> Tumor<\/em> issue deemed offensive.<\/li>\n<li>The first African-American homecoming queen at Illinois, Clarice Davis, crowned.<\/li>\n<li>Men\u2019s basketball team won Big Ten, finished in third place in the NCAA Tournament.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_719\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-719\" style=\"width: 222px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2014\/08\/0002644.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-719 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2014\/08\/0002644-222x300.jpg\" alt=\"Rose Bowl program, 1952\" width=\"222\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2014\/08\/0002644-222x300.jpg 222w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2014\/08\/0002644.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 222px) 100vw, 222px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-719\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rose Bowl program, 1952<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><strong>1952<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Illinois defeated Stanford in the Rose Bowl, 40-7.<\/li>\n<li>Men\u2019s basketball team won Big Ten, advanced to the first-ever officially recognized Final Four.<\/li>\n<li>The Alumni Association honored Illini student athletes with the first George Huff awards.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>1953<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cPanty-raid\u201d fad swept campus.<\/li>\n<li>Campus ban on automobiles suspended for trial period of one year.<\/li>\n<li>Board of Trustees forced President Stoddard\u2019s resignation. Some 1,000 students marched from Auditorium to President\u2019s house in support of Stoddard. Lloyd Morey named acting president.<\/li>\n<li>The Student Community Human Relations Council began campaign to end discrimination by local barber shops.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1145\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1145\" style=\"width: 214px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2014\/08\/0004941.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1145 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2014\/08\/0004941-214x300.jpg\" alt=\"Shaft, January 1948\" width=\"214\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2014\/08\/0004941-214x300.jpg 214w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2014\/08\/0004941.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 214px) 100vw, 214px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1145\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Shaft<\/em>, January 1948<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><strong>1954<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Committee on Student Affairs ruled that any student working on a publication like <em>Shaft<\/em> faced possible disciplinary action.<\/li>\n<li>Vice President Richard Nixon delivered speech from steps of YMCA.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>1955<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>David Dodds Henry appointed University president.<\/li>\n<li>Dutch elm disease killed 48 of the 117 elms on the Quad.<\/li>\n<li>Student registration held in the Armory for the first time.<\/li>\n<li>Korean native Duck Choo Oh named Homecoming Queen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>1956<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The Law Building dedicated.<\/li>\n<li>Ban on \u201cpolitical speakers\u201d was temporarily lifted. Vice-Presidential candidate Estes Kefauver became first authorized political speaker on campus in more than 60 years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_722\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-722\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2014\/08\/0003116.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-722 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2014\/08\/0003116-300x234.jpg\" alt=\"Bevier Hall, 1956\" width=\"300\" height=\"234\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2014\/08\/0003116-300x234.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2014\/08\/0003116.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-722\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bevier Hall, 1956<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><strong>1957<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Senator John F. Kennedy addressed 1,200 graduates at the midyear convocation held in the Auditorium.<\/li>\n<li>Bevier Hall and Child Development Laboratory dedicated.<\/li>\n<li>Students conducted \u201cwater riots\u201d on Memorial Day.<\/li>\n<li>The School of Journalism and Communications and the School of Physical Education became colleges.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>1958<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Allen Hall opened to accommodate 669 women.<\/li>\n<li>Board of Trustees modified ban on \u201cpolitical speakers\u201d to permit on-campus addresses by presidential and vice-presidential candidates.<\/li>\n<li>Digital Computer Laboratory completed.<\/li>\n<li>Gregory Drive Residence Halls opened.\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_724\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-724\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2014\/08\/0000541.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-724 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2014\/08\/0000541-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Newly constructed married student housing, October 1959\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-724\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Newly constructed married student housing, circa 1959<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>1959<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Burrill Hall opened, serving as headquarters for new School of Life Sciences.<\/li>\n<li>All elms on the Quad were gone.<\/li>\n<li>Art and Architecture Building (now Art and Design) completed.<\/li>\n<li>Orchard Place Apartments opened.<\/li>\n<li>University recognition withheld for student organizations restricting membership on the basis of race or religion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/research-education\/timeline\/1940-1949\/\"><strong>Return to 1940-1949<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/research-education\/timeline\/1960-1969\/\"><strong>Continue to 1960-1969<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1950-1959 1950 Controversy occurred over whether University should recognize American Youth for Democracy, an affiliate of the Communist Party. President Stoddard ordered that recognition for group be given. Mechanical Engineering Building opened. Student Community Interracial Committee surveyed students\u2019 opinions on desegregated housing. First women cheerleaders appointed. Mildred Fogel crowned Homecoming Queen. As &#8220;Barbara Bain,&#8221; Fogel [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":453,"featured_media":0,"parent":339,"menu_order":7,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-626","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/453"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=626"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/626\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13192,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/626\/revisions\/13192"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}