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University of Iowa anti-war protests, 1965-1967
31858064848116_056-02
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[handwritten] DMSR Dec. 10 , 1967 p.2 (of 5) Followed a 'Text' In Iowa Riot By James Flansburg (Register Staff Writer) IOWA CITY, IA- Last week's guerrilla-type demonstration at the University of Iowa was almost a carbon copy of riot tactics recommended in a new newspaper being published here. " They played it right down the line with monitors and group leaders and two-way radios," said Johnson County Attorney Robert Jansen. " It followed the article." The article was published in what is called an underground paper, Middle Earth. It described - using a demonstration in Oakland, Calif., as an example - how to disperse and regroup, use of a communications network, how to divert police, what to wear, how to diminish the effects of tear gas and chemical Mace. About 200 demonstrators bought it off Tuesday. " A well-organized, well-planned disturbance," said Jansen. Second Protest It was the second demonstration in a month that 100 eastern Iowa lawmen had been called on to put down. Seeing the same faces they'd seen Nov. 1, they began complaining about the university's rules on student behavior and lack of rules on attendance. "They're coddling these students," said Johnson County Sheriff Maynard Schneider. Some should be kicked out of school, said Gov. Harold Hughes. Someone observed that if the university granted a degree in protest demonstrations, there would be about 200 candidates for it - most of them getting top grades l virtually all with perfect attendance records. Monday, more were in Des Moines watching a half-dozen young men turn in what they said were their draft cards. Tuesday, back in Iowa City, the 200 disrupted the studies of the university's other 17,800 students by screaming in the hallways, trying to break into private offices and incidentally- defacing Old Capitol with sprayed paint, Seven Repeaters Wednesday, they spent talking about Tuesday and complaining that lawmen had used clubs and chemical Mace in arresting 18 persons ( seven repeaters from the 108 arrested in the Nov. 1 demonstrations). Thursday, they ostensibly went to class, and University President Howard Bowen made a speech warning of the dangers if politics gets mixed into university affairs. Friday, one demonstrator described by the university as a ringleader, was suspended from his teaching duties but kept on the payroll; President Bowen refused to discuss the situation further and said he's make a report to the faculty next Tuesday. Saturday was a day of rest. A month ago, the demonstrators showed their disapproval of Vietnam war by blocking the doors of the Iowa Memorial Union so that students couldn't get in to see Marine recruiters. This time, police blocked the doors because the demonstrators tried to push into the building and disrupt the interviews by recruiters for Dow Chemical Co., which makes napalm, the jellied gasoline used in fire bombs in the Vietnam war. Demonstrators dispute County Attorney Jansen's contention that the day was well-organized, well-planned. But it is hard to dispute the fact that some showed up with two-way radios, some wearing gloves (with temperatures in the mid-50s), their faces smeared with Vaseline, which as Middle Earth. STUDENTS - Continued on Page Three
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[handwritten] DMSR Dec. 10 , 1967 p.2 (of 5) Followed a 'Text' In Iowa Riot By James Flansburg (Register Staff Writer) IOWA CITY, IA- Last week's guerrilla-type demonstration at the University of Iowa was almost a carbon copy of riot tactics recommended in a new newspaper being published here. " They played it right down the line with monitors and group leaders and two-way radios," said Johnson County Attorney Robert Jansen. " It followed the article." The article was published in what is called an underground paper, Middle Earth. It described - using a demonstration in Oakland, Calif., as an example - how to disperse and regroup, use of a communications network, how to divert police, what to wear, how to diminish the effects of tear gas and chemical Mace. About 200 demonstrators bought it off Tuesday. " A well-organized, well-planned disturbance," said Jansen. Second Protest It was the second demonstration in a month that 100 eastern Iowa lawmen had been called on to put down. Seeing the same faces they'd seen Nov. 1, they began complaining about the university's rules on student behavior and lack of rules on attendance. "They're coddling these students," said Johnson County Sheriff Maynard Schneider. Some should be kicked out of school, said Gov. Harold Hughes. Someone observed that if the university granted a degree in protest demonstrations, there would be about 200 candidates for it - most of them getting top grades l virtually all with perfect attendance records. Monday, more were in Des Moines watching a half-dozen young men turn in what they said were their draft cards. Tuesday, back in Iowa City, the 200 disrupted the studies of the university's other 17,800 students by screaming in the hallways, trying to break into private offices and incidentally- defacing Old Capitol with sprayed paint, Seven Repeaters Wednesday, they spent talking about Tuesday and complaining that lawmen had used clubs and chemical Mace in arresting 18 persons ( seven repeaters from the 108 arrested in the Nov. 1 demonstrations). Thursday, they ostensibly went to class, and University President Howard Bowen made a speech warning of the dangers if politics gets mixed into university affairs. Friday, one demonstrator described by the university as a ringleader, was suspended from his teaching duties but kept on the payroll; President Bowen refused to discuss the situation further and said he's make a report to the faculty next Tuesday. Saturday was a day of rest. A month ago, the demonstrators showed their disapproval of Vietnam war by blocking the doors of the Iowa Memorial Union so that students couldn't get in to see Marine recruiters. This time, police blocked the doors because the demonstrators tried to push into the building and disrupt the interviews by recruiters for Dow Chemical Co., which makes napalm, the jellied gasoline used in fire bombs in the Vietnam war. Demonstrators dispute County Attorney Jansen's contention that the day was well-organized, well-planned. But it is hard to dispute the fact that some showed up with two-way radios, some wearing gloves (with temperatures in the mid-50s), their faces smeared with Vaseline, which as Middle Earth. STUDENTS - Continued on Page Three
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