Author Archives: Thomas Hendrickson

Behind the Names: Residence Halls Named After Women

By Thomas Hendrickson | Published: March 18, 2016

Thomas Hendrickson is an undergraduate in history at the University of Illinois and an Undergraduate Assistant at the Archives Research Center. A total of ten residence halls are named after women who have had a profound impact on the University of Illinois. Allen Hall is named after Louisa C. Allen (1848-1920). She was only 22 years old when […]

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Campus Traditions: the Failure of the Practical

By Thomas Hendrickson | Published: January 13, 2016

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 […]

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World War II and University Housing

By Thomas Hendrickson | Published: December 9, 2015

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 […]

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