Southern Illinois University Carbondale Student life at Southern Illinois University Carbondale has undergone remarkable changes since the Second World War. What had been Southern Illinois Normal University became Southern Illinois University, which in turn became Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The university grew from a campus with 2,000 students principally drawn from the immediate region to a university 10 times that size with students coming from throughout the nation and from overseas. This history focuses on the changes in student life during this era, including fashions and fads, homecoming parades and politics, and housing and hangouts. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is about students who haveattended the university over the past seven decades.