Jeff Machota

Jeff Machota came to U of I in the fall of 1984, already knowing he would live in Unit One at Allen Hall.  He hoped it would be a place where he could explore, learn, and find a diversity of opinions and people.  Jeff took many Unit One classes and made connections with the artists-in-residence.  Later, he became deeply involved in the anti-apartheid movement, virtually living in the Main Quad shantytowns in the spring of 1986.  As of 2024, he still lives in Champaign-Urbana, and has been an activist in the community and around the University since the 1980s.  In this interview, he discusses Allen Hall as a nexus of campus protest, his upbringing and early education, time as a University of Illinois student, the anti-apartheid movement, his later activism, and his impressions of the University and how it has changed over the years.