"Town-Gown Relations, DeKalb, Illinois, 1955-1980" - Final Report, October 1981

INTRODUCTION “Town-Gown Relations in DeKalb, 1955-1980,” was an oral history project sponsored by the Illinois Humanities Council, under the auspices of the NIU Libraries and the Northern Illinois Regional History Center, and conducted from November 1980 to April 1981. Co- sponsors of the project included the DeKalb County Historical Society, the DeKalb Human Relations Commission, the DeKalb Landmarks Commission, and the DeKalb Public Library. Eleven volunteers interviewed DeKalb area citizens on various aspects of town-gown relations. The project ended with a public forum on April 4, 1981 to provide citizens with an opportunity to discuss the problems, benefits, and future status of town-gown relations as revealed in the interviews. Property rights in the series belong to the Regional History Center; literary rights are dedicated to the public. There are no restrictions on access to these materials. DESCRIPTON The interviews in this oral history series focus on the relationship between the DeKalb community and Northern Illinois University during a period of tremendous expansion (1955-1965) and conflict (the Vietnam Era, in particular 1968-1972). Respondents discussed their personal viewpoints on DeKalb’s cultural resources, the impact of university expansion on economic growth, political changes, intergroup relations, and the future of town-gown relations. Major topics include Ellwood House, the Arboretum controversy, the fluctuating voting and drinking age, student housing, responses to an influx of Black and foreign students, the city manager form of government and the student’s role on governmental boards, student unrest in the late 1960's, city planning and zoning, and downtown development. Only a few of the interviews touch on how the “average” DeKalb citizen viewed the effects of university expansion during this period.