Editor’s note: Every week The Daily Illini will dig through our archives to find some of our best, most interesting and bizarre stories for this week in history. This week we found out about military supplies, record enrollment, rare books and civil rights at the University.

1922

On Sept. 22, 1922, The Daily Illini reported that the Illini Union would be opening a military store. The purpose was to supply students with tailor-made uniforms and other supplies. At the time the article was published, 25 men had already been fitted, and they had plans for 500 more men to come in that week. They had planned for this military shop to be a permanent feature in the Union.

1959

On Sept. 22, 1959, the University hit record enrollment, with 19,799 students enrolled for the fall semester. The 4.92 percent enrollment increase meant that 929 more students were on campus, leading to longer lines for registration and housing shortages. This especially affected women and transfer students, as study lounges and instructional buildings had to be converted to accommodate the growth.

1961

On Sept. 26, 1961, a 1912 University graduate, Carl Colvin, donated 24 rare books on Haiti to the University’s library. Colvin became a distinguished figure in public service after he established hundreds of rural schools in Haiti. Because of Haiti’s low literacy rate, few libraries existed, and Colvin leapt at the opportunity to bring a few of the rare books back to the University.

1963

The University of Illinois Student Senate voted to create a campus civil rights commission. The senate voted unanimously on Sept. 25, 1963.

The vote led to the president of the senate contacting the leaders of civil rights, religious and housing groups to ask if they wished to be part of the committee, allowing these groups to have more power in the committee.