Archival Collection: Urban Plunge Programs At Albion College

The evolution and impact of the Urban Plunge Programs at Albion College, as reported by The Albion Pleiad

Annika Lindstrom

Introduction

This Archival Collection will focus on the evolution of the "Urban Plunge" programs held at Albion College and the different variations of them, as well as some student experiences and responses to the programs. The Urban Plunge Programs were opportunities for students to be “plunged” into the inner cities of Chicago or Detroit. Depending on the specific program, the purpose of each outing to the city ranged from being exposed to the contemporary problems of the inner city, student observation and education, expanding student perspectives, volunteer work in the communities, and more.

Programs of this nature were held by multiple organizations on campus, including the Albion Ecumenical Movement as well as the Chicago Urban Ministry Plunge Program which was led by Reverend Robert Roth. This collection focuses on the programs put on by these two organizations due to the fact that they were most heavily reported on by The Pleiad.

The collection also presents the artifacts in almost entirely chronological order (with the exception of the photos included from The Albionian) so the evolution and changes that occurred each time a version of the program was held is evident. There are fundamental differences in the purposes of each Urban Plunge Program held from when they began in 1969 to the 1980s. Urban Plunge trips toward the end of the Chicago Urban Ministry Plunge Program, before Reverend Robert Roth left, seem to become more volunteer-based, focusing on improving the lives of those who were part of the disadvantaged communities in the inner cities. This was achieved through building reconstruction or assisting groups who were already established in the city with the purpose of providing resources for those in need. Multiple Albion students seem to have had a positive experience with this group volunteer work, and were inspired to create their own projects to assist communities in the inner cities as a result.

Overall, the purpose of this project is to highlight the variations of the Urban Plunge Programs at Albion College and how different groups of students used each opportunity to impact the inner city communities of Chicago and Detroit. Because this project is a collection of articles from the student news publication The Pleiad with additional visuals from The Albionian, a special focus is put on the students' perspective, opinion, and intention of how they presented themselves as a part of any of these programs or in response to them.

Archival Collection

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Biography

Annika Lindstrom is a second-year student at Albion College from Antioch, Illinois. She is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology and Psychology, and is also a member of the Prentiss M. Brown Honors Program, as well as the Volleyball team at Albion. Growing up in a middle class family from a small town in Northern Illinois, her educational experience so far has been in predominantly white institutions. This includes Albion College, although it is the most diverse school she has attended so far. Researching a topic based around the experiences of inner city communities she has never been a part of, Annika has a perspective closer to that of a student who the experience of an “Urban Plunge” may have been advertised to, which she kept in mind throughout the process of working on this project.

Bibliography

“AEM Puts Focus on White Institutional Racism”, The Albionian. Albion College Library Archives, 1970.

“Group Plans ‘Urban Plunge’ Next Month”, The Pleiad (Albion, MI), March 14th, 1969.  https://archives.albion.edu/files/show/3464 

Matthews, Melissa. “Urban Plunge Stuns Students Accused of White Racism”, The Pleiad (Albion, MI), November 14th, 1969.  https://archives.albion.edu/files/show/3479 

Ngare, Ngure. “The Black Rap”, The Pleiad (Albion, MI), November 21st, 1969.  https://archives.albion.edu/files/show/3480 

Herndon, Leon. “The Black Rap”, The Pleiad (Albion, MI), March 6th, 1970.  https://archives.albion.edu/files/show/3487 

Huttenlocher, Martha. “Students Grow During Chicago Experience”, The Pleiad (Albion, MI), October 31st, 1986.  https://archives.albion.edu/files/show/3880 

“What the Rock Doesn’t Tell You”, The Pleiad (Albion, MI), September 11th, 1987.  https://archives.albion.edu/items/show/3879#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0 

“What the Rock Doesn’t Tell You”, The Pleiad (Albion, MI), October 9th, 1987.  https://archives.albion.edu/items/show/3883#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0 

“Chicago Urban Ministry”, The Albionian. Albion College Library Archives, 1988. 

Chang, William J. “Students Aid Latino Youth”, The Pleiad (Albion, MI), September 18th, 1987.  https://archives.albion.edu/files/show/3900 

“Ministry In Action”, The Albionian. Albion College Library Archives, 1986. 

Keyser, Ellie. “Oppression on Campus”, The Pleiad (Albion, MI), October 2nd, 1987.  https://archives.albion.edu/files/show/3902 

Keyser, Ellie. “American Pictures: Designed to Oppress”, The Pleiad (Albion, MI), October 2nd, 1987.  https://archives.albion.edu/files/show/3902