DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | University of Iowa anti-war protests, January-April 1971 | 1971-02-22 ICPC Article: ""30 Ptotest Military Recruiter"" DMR Article: ""Students Against Violence""

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University of Iowa anti-war protests, January-April 1971

1971-02-22 ICPC Article: ""30 Ptotest Military Recruiter"" DMR Article: ""Students Against Violence""

P.C.
Monday, February 22, 1971

30 Protest Military Recruiter
About 30 antiwar protesters demonstrated outside a placement office on the University of Iowa campus this noon in the third recent protest over the appearance of a military recruiter on the campus.
About 15 UI students, calling themselves Christians Affirming Life, began a sit-in about 11 a.m. today at the Engineering Building in protest of the presence of an Army Materiel Command recruiter there.
They were joined about 1 p.m. by an equal number of protesters gathered by Students for a Democratic Society during an earlier rally at the Iowa Memorial Union.
Fred Leone, a sophomore from Iowa City and spokesman for the Christian group, said protesters failed to meet with the recruiter over the noon hour but were served coffee by placement office personnel.
The SDS contingent was discussing a posible picket line in front of the placement office about 1:30 p.m.
Robert Engle, and John Larson, assistanats to UI President Willard Boyd, and Campus Security officers watched on as the sign-carrying protesters  carefully avoided blocking the hallway at the Engineering Building.
"Last week two thousand people at Kent State defied a ban on all demonstrations to protest the Laos invasion," an SDS handout said. "Can we be less committed? The only defense is solidarity. The only way to win is for each of us to become actively involved."
The Army Materiel Command—recruiting engineers at the university today—is responsible for furnishing the Army with weapons and, among other things, research and development in riot control.
Several protesters said today they viewed the sit-in as a preview of an "anti-ROTC day" planned March 4 in conjunction with campus protesters across the country.

DMR   2/22/71
Students Against Violence
The University of iowa Student Senate has voted to pay up to $400 for repairing damage done to the University Fieldhouse and new Recreation Building by a band of about 200 students recently. 
The students, protesting the invasion of Laos, broke windows and ransacked the ROTC office. University officials estimated repair costs at $350 to $400. The Student Senate's money, which will be used to pay for damages, comes from student fees.
The prompt action of the Student Senate in condemning "all destructive and violent actions" and assuming the cost of this vandalism is to be commended. Not that the wreckage was the responsibility of the whole student body. It wasn't.
The difficulty which the leaders of the spree had in attracting participants made it obvious that most students disapproved of this approach, however deeply they might have felt about a new expansion of the war in Indochina. But the public too often overlooks this.
Voluntarily assuming the cost, as the Student Senate did, serves as a concrete means of expressing this disapproval in a way the public cannot overlook.

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P.C. Monday, February 22, 1971 30 Protest Military Recruiter About 30 antiwar protesters demonstrated outside a placement office on the University of Iowa campus this noon in the third recent protest over the appearance of a military recruiter on the campus. About 15 UI students, calling themselves Christians Affirming Life, began a sit-in about 11 a.m. today at the Engineering Building in protest of the presence of an Army Materiel Command recruiter there. They were joined about 1 p.m. by an equal number of protesters gathered by Students for a Democratic Society during an earlier rally at the Iowa Memorial Union. Fred Leone, a sophomore from Iowa City and spokesman for the Christian group, said protesters failed to meet with the recruiter over the noon hour but were served coffee by placement office personnel. The SDS contingent was discussing a posible picket line in front of the placement office about 1:30 p.m. Robert Engle, and John Larson, assistanats to UI President Willard Boyd, and Campus Security officers watched on as the sign-carrying protesters carefully avoided blocking the hallway at the Engineering Building. "Last week two thousand people at Kent State defied a ban on all demonstrations to protest the Laos invasion," an SDS handout said. "Can we be less committed? The only defense is solidarity. The only way to win is for each of us to become actively involved." The Army Materiel Command—recruiting engineers at the university today—is responsible for furnishing the Army with weapons and, among other things, research and development in riot control. Several protesters said today they viewed the sit-in as a preview of an "anti-ROTC day" planned March 4 in conjunction with campus protesters across the country. DMR 2/22/71 Students Against Violence The University of iowa Student Senate has voted to pay up to $400 for repairing damage done to the University Fieldhouse and new Recreation Building by a band of about 200 students recently. The students, protesting the invasion of Laos, broke windows and ransacked the ROTC office. University officials estimated repair costs at $350 to $400. The Student Senate's money, which will be used to pay for damages, comes from student fees. The prompt action of the Student Senate in condemning "all destructive and violent actions" and assuming the cost of this vandalism is to be commended. Not that the wreckage was the responsibility of the whole student body. It wasn't. The difficulty which the leaders of the spree had in attracting participants made it obvious that most students disapproved of this approach, however deeply they might have felt about a new expansion of the war in Indochina. But the public too often overlooks this. Voluntarily assuming the cost, as the Student Senate did, serves as a concrete means of expressing this disapproval in a way the public cannot overlook.