DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | University of Iowa anti-war protests, 1965-1967

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University of Iowa anti-war protests, 1965-1967

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Wed; Nov. 3, 1965

Smith Gives His reasons For Burning Draft Card

DES MOINES (AP) - A University of Iowa student said today one reason he burned his draft card was to help keep avenues of effective communication open to protest groups.
Stephen Smith, 20, of Marion said he feels many ways of making their views heard are being closed to protest groups or are losing their effectiveness.
He said he believed a "dramatic means of expression" was necessary to keep the public "alert, listening and discussing" moral and social issues.
The burning of his draft card, Smith said, was a protest not only against United States policy in Viet Nam and the draft card act passed by Congress in August, but against what he called the "emotionalism" underlying both.
"I see war as a kind of racial structure," he told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview. "The emotionalism behind this kind of war is sort of the same kind you find in the civil rights issue in the South."
Smith said he feels that the draft card law abridges to some extent his right of free speech.
Smith, a sophomore engineering student, burned what he said was his draft card at a student meeting known as "Soap Box Sound-off" in the University of Iowa Memorial Union Sept. 20.
He has been charged in U.S. District Court in Davenport with willful destruction of a draft card and is free on $500 bond raised by student friends. A preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 8. Conviction carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and up to $10,000 fine.
The Iowa Civil Liberties Union provided an attorney for Smith, after the youth reported he had been unable to hire counsel on his own.
The attorney is Craig Sawyer, Drake University law school professor who formerly practiced law in Minneapolis, Sawyer said his client "is being prosecuted for holding a perfectly lawful view."
Smith, who has been active in the civil rights movement for a year and a half, said his views on both civil rights and war are grounded in a strongly religious background.
"I come from a strongly religious family," he said, "and from childhood I was active in children's and youth groups in my church," the Disciples of Christ. 
But in recent years, he said, he has found in the civil rights movement a "much stronger and more dynamic religion than I got in church."
Smith was one of eight students who participated in a hunger strike in front of the Iowa City Post Office to marshal support for the civil rights workers during the Selma, Ala., racial disorders.
He also worked with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNICK) in civil rights work in Mississippi during the summer of 1964. He reported he was beaten up by segregationists soon after his arrival there. 
He said he had gained respect during that time for nonviolent resistance, and added that his first exposure to the Viet Nam issue was during his work with SNICK.
"We had to agree not to strike back" if attacked in Mississippi Smith said. "I believe it has quite an effect on an aggressor."
He said he is "not much of a talker" and found he can express himself more effectively by nonviolent actions than in words. 
Burning a draft card as a protest is not new, he said - in fact it was just such action which led to passage of the new draft card law.
"I was appalled at the severity of the sentence," Smith said. "In my view its passage was an irrational act."
Smith said he does not feel that "five years of my life are too much to give to say that this law is wrong. I feel I owe my country five years."
Protest groups, Smith said, are constantly faced with the need for finding new ways to make the public listen to their views.
"Picketing is so common that it is not really effective anymore," Smith said, and such meetings as "teach-ins" tend to "break down into discussion of trivial issues, such as the wearing of beards." Smith is bearded.
"It is important to preserve free discussion - to find ways of saying to the public, 'You don't have to believe what I saw, but at least listen'," he said.
Smith emphasized that his decision to burn his draft card was his own and did not spring from any  group, and he does not advocate similar action by any other individual.
In fact, he said, "I have made it clear to the Students for a Democratic Society that I will not agree if they try to take up my case as a subject for their protest. I have made it clear that this is not their project."

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[handwritten] Wed; Nov. 3, 1965 Smith Gives His reasons For Burning Draft Card DES MOINES (AP) - A University of Iowa student said today one reason he burned his draft card was to help keep avenues of effective communication open to protest groups. Stephen Smith, 20, of Marion said he feels many ways of making their views heard are being closed to protest groups or are losing their effectiveness. He said he believed a "dramatic means of expression" was necessary to keep the public "alert, listening and discussing" moral and social issues. The burning of his draft card, Smith said, was a protest not only against United States policy in Viet Nam and the draft card act passed by Congress in August, but against what he called the "emotionalism" underlying both. "I see war as a kind of racial structure," he told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview. "The emotionalism behind this kind of war is sort of the same kind you find in the civil rights issue in the South." Smith said he feels that the draft card law abridges to some extent his right of free speech. Smith, a sophomore engineering student, burned what he said was his draft card at a student meeting known as "Soap Box Sound-off" in the University of Iowa Memorial Union Sept. 20. He has been charged in U.S. District Court in Davenport with willful destruction of a draft card and is free on $500 bond raised by student friends. A preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 8. Conviction carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and up to $10,000 fine. The Iowa Civil Liberties Union provided an attorney for Smith, after the youth reported he had been unable to hire counsel on his own. The attorney is Craig Sawyer, Drake University law school professor who formerly practiced law in Minneapolis, Sawyer said his client "is being prosecuted for holding a perfectly lawful view." Smith, who has been active in the civil rights movement for a year and a half, said his views on both civil rights and war are grounded in a strongly religious background. "I come from a strongly religious family," he said, "and from childhood I was active in children's and youth groups in my church," the Disciples of Christ. But in recent years, he said, he has found in the civil rights movement a "much stronger and more dynamic religion than I got in church." Smith was one of eight students who participated in a hunger strike in front of the Iowa City Post Office to marshal support for the civil rights workers during the Selma, Ala., racial disorders. He also worked with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNICK) in civil rights work in Mississippi during the summer of 1964. He reported he was beaten up by segregationists soon after his arrival there. He said he had gained respect during that time for nonviolent resistance, and added that his first exposure to the Viet Nam issue was during his work with SNICK. "We had to agree not to strike back" if attacked in Mississippi Smith said. "I believe it has quite an effect on an aggressor." He said he is "not much of a talker" and found he can express himself more effectively by nonviolent actions than in words. Burning a draft card as a protest is not new, he said - in fact it was just such action which led to passage of the new draft card law. "I was appalled at the severity of the sentence," Smith said. "In my view its passage was an irrational act." Smith said he does not feel that "five years of my life are too much to give to say that this law is wrong. I feel I owe my country five years." Protest groups, Smith said, are constantly faced with the need for finding new ways to make the public listen to their views. "Picketing is so common that it is not really effective anymore," Smith said, and such meetings as "teach-ins" tend to "break down into discussion of trivial issues, such as the wearing of beards." Smith is bearded. "It is important to preserve free discussion - to find ways of saying to the public, 'You don't have to believe what I saw, but at least listen'," he said. Smith emphasized that his decision to burn his draft card was his own and did not spring from any group, and he does not advocate similar action by any other individual. In fact, he said, "I have made it clear to the Students for a Democratic Society that I will not agree if they try to take up my case as a subject for their protest. I have made it clear that this is not their project."