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University of Iowa anti-war protests, 1970
1970-05-13 Daily Iowan Editorial: ""Strike!"" Page 2
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DI May 13, 1970 2 (of 4) IKE [upside down !] RTS [printed upside down] om the people [left side on previous page] SPI Board Action It is unfortunate that several staff members, most of them journalism majors, decided to sign a statement pledging their loyalty to The Daily Iowan, rather than to any individual. It is unfortunate because as future journalists their loyalty should be pledged to an uncompromised search for truth, justice and a fairness applicable to all. These things have been denied Leona Durham and her staff. M. E. Moore, G 517 Hawkeye Dr. To the Editor: In a time when more people should be keeping their heads about them while more and more seem to be losing theirs, the hurling of epithets in public gatherings seems a highly dubious, if not insipid, occupation, Mr. Ehrlich has, in my opinion, placed himself in that precariously imbalanced crowd of cliche hurlers spreading from Mr. Agnew to our very own Mr. Sies. The voices from both fringes are detrimental if not downright irrelevant at this time. The students' worst enemy is poor counsel; those who have read their Lenin, Mao, Che and Malcolm X shild be critically aware that the most important factor int ehearly stages of a revolution is to identify your enemies so that you will be able to know who your real friends are. We can all be damned thankful that there are several "cool" heads like Professor Lane Davis on this faculty. Loren K. Clarks, A2 247 Hawkeye Courts Tired of insane government To the Editor: I hear they had a vote last night; well, no one gave me a ballot; I shall assume then that George Wallace supporters can get together and vote "overwhelmingly" to make him President of the United States (he got a little over 10 per cent of the votes, too; for your little brain 2,500 — if they all voted for the strike, which I doubt—is hardly representative of 20,000, but then your math may be very poor). I've been told that this strike is comparable to a union strike; however, unions tend to vote to see if they will strike —Sunday afternoon at one of the [missing rest of column] and left to "rap" with the people back home. I rather believe the strikers are very serious, it is just that they are striking blind and they can not seem to see past the immediate campus area — you do not endear yourselves to the average public by closing a University. But then I'm not all that convinced that closing the University is not the major aim of a lot of them. I am tired of insane government actions, but it is absolutely inexcusable for 2,500 supposedly intelligent students to think that closing a university is sane. Lowell K. Handy, A3 N22 Hillcrest [missing rest of column] ROTC: now, the future Thirty-seven to eighteen was the Faculty Senate vote Tuesday on a resolution which in wording would virtually abolish ROTC from the University campus. The resolution approved said: "Be it resolved by the Faculty Senate of the University of Iowa that the University of Iowa not sign any further contracts with ROTC and that ROTC not be continued as a University-sponsored activity." However, the resolution is just that — a resolution. As University Provost Ray L. Heffner said immediately after the vote, "The status of ROTC will be determined by the Board of Regents. This resolution is not binding or final." Heffner said that "there should be no misunderstanding on this point." Unfortunately, a sizable portion of the students who had been present at the meeting had left before Heffner spoke becuase of the confusion surrounding the approval of the motion. A "bit" of chronology to explain the confusion: • The majority resolution as contained in "The Role of ROTC at the University of Iowa: A Report of the Faculty Senate Committee on University Relations with the Federal Government" was moved and seconded. This resolution provided for the initiation of action "leading to the revision or termination of the contracts between the University and the armed forces." It went on to abolish academic credit for ROTC courses, any status or designation of ROTC as an academic department or inter-disciplinary program, and faculty status to officers on active duty with ROTC units. • Immediately after this was seconded a motion was made to approve the resolution that the Senate finally approved. It, too, was seconded, and according to parliamentary procedure this second motion became a "substitute motion" to be voted on. If passed, it was to become the original motion. If defeated, the original motion was to keep its status and would be voted on. • The second resolution—the one finally approved — was an "addendum to the majority report" by Schoner and Weston. • The Senate entered debate on the second —substituted or addendum —resolution thoroughy confused (along with everyone else attending the meeting) and thinking that they were actually debating the merits of ROTC in light of the ramifications of approving the resolution. • After the debate, Faculty Senate Chairman Stow Persons said a private ballot would be used to determine the outcome. Immediately there came a motion for a roll-call vote. This was voted down. Then came an appeal of the chair's decision for a secret ballot. The consensus of the Senate was that a showing of hands had been the traditional technique and should be continued. Hand voting was approved 48-7. • Two votes were taken —each time the same tally, 31-31. •There was no choice now but to take a roll-call vote. This was moved and approved 45-11. The vote was taken and the resolution was approved 31-30. The roof of Calvin Hall practically collapsed under the cheers from the students attending the meeting. Then came a mass exit — students and some Senators —followed by Heffner's statement, followed by even more confusion. • Persons announced that the vote did not constitute approval of the resolution but only approved changing its status from a "substitute motion" to an original motion. • That did not make a whole lot of people happy. There was another motion — for a hand vote —and finally the 37-18 approval. What's to be done now? A committee of three Senators —John Gerber, Donald Johnson, Lloyd Knowler —will "negotiate" with University Pres. Willard Boyd "prompt implementation of the resolution." Prompt implementation will probably mean prompt consideration by the Board of Regents. And, since the Board meets this week, the soonest the question could be brought before them is June 11 or 12, when it meets at the University of Northern Iowa. Action by the Boad, of course, depends greatly on the way the question is brought before it, and the material presented. Even then, it is very likely that the Board will appoint a committee to study the situation first. It is inevitable that the whole process will take time. Therefore, we must all be patient, but firm. For those opposed to ROTC, they must wage an intellectual war. The Board is composed of people who yield little, if any, to pressure. They will want facts and sound opinion —facts and opinion presented in a resonable and unemotional way. The University adminsitration should meet with students —pro and con — and insure student input into criteria to be presented to the Board. More importantly, however, students should organize and not only prepare their own statements for input into the Board but shoud make administrative moves to insure student representation at the meeting or meetings when the Board will make their decision. —Lowell Forte What we need now is a new war To the Editor: Domestic battles, both verbal and physical, concerning our current campaign in Southeast Asia have at last reached an unbearable point. No matter where one turns his ear, there is someone waiting to chastise our endeavors. And the motives under- [missing rest of column] amination. We all cherish our heritage of warfare and realize we must not grow lax in observing it. What is more, we can remember only too well the economic horrors which have resulted from periods of peace in the past. But the fact remains that Vietnam is bad business.
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DI May 13, 1970 2 (of 4) IKE [upside down !] RTS [printed upside down] om the people [left side on previous page] SPI Board Action It is unfortunate that several staff members, most of them journalism majors, decided to sign a statement pledging their loyalty to The Daily Iowan, rather than to any individual. It is unfortunate because as future journalists their loyalty should be pledged to an uncompromised search for truth, justice and a fairness applicable to all. These things have been denied Leona Durham and her staff. M. E. Moore, G 517 Hawkeye Dr. To the Editor: In a time when more people should be keeping their heads about them while more and more seem to be losing theirs, the hurling of epithets in public gatherings seems a highly dubious, if not insipid, occupation, Mr. Ehrlich has, in my opinion, placed himself in that precariously imbalanced crowd of cliche hurlers spreading from Mr. Agnew to our very own Mr. Sies. The voices from both fringes are detrimental if not downright irrelevant at this time. The students' worst enemy is poor counsel; those who have read their Lenin, Mao, Che and Malcolm X shild be critically aware that the most important factor int ehearly stages of a revolution is to identify your enemies so that you will be able to know who your real friends are. We can all be damned thankful that there are several "cool" heads like Professor Lane Davis on this faculty. Loren K. Clarks, A2 247 Hawkeye Courts Tired of insane government To the Editor: I hear they had a vote last night; well, no one gave me a ballot; I shall assume then that George Wallace supporters can get together and vote "overwhelmingly" to make him President of the United States (he got a little over 10 per cent of the votes, too; for your little brain 2,500 — if they all voted for the strike, which I doubt—is hardly representative of 20,000, but then your math may be very poor). I've been told that this strike is comparable to a union strike; however, unions tend to vote to see if they will strike —Sunday afternoon at one of the [missing rest of column] and left to "rap" with the people back home. I rather believe the strikers are very serious, it is just that they are striking blind and they can not seem to see past the immediate campus area — you do not endear yourselves to the average public by closing a University. But then I'm not all that convinced that closing the University is not the major aim of a lot of them. I am tired of insane government actions, but it is absolutely inexcusable for 2,500 supposedly intelligent students to think that closing a university is sane. Lowell K. Handy, A3 N22 Hillcrest [missing rest of column] ROTC: now, the future Thirty-seven to eighteen was the Faculty Senate vote Tuesday on a resolution which in wording would virtually abolish ROTC from the University campus. The resolution approved said: "Be it resolved by the Faculty Senate of the University of Iowa that the University of Iowa not sign any further contracts with ROTC and that ROTC not be continued as a University-sponsored activity." However, the resolution is just that — a resolution. As University Provost Ray L. Heffner said immediately after the vote, "The status of ROTC will be determined by the Board of Regents. This resolution is not binding or final." Heffner said that "there should be no misunderstanding on this point." Unfortunately, a sizable portion of the students who had been present at the meeting had left before Heffner spoke becuase of the confusion surrounding the approval of the motion. A "bit" of chronology to explain the confusion: • The majority resolution as contained in "The Role of ROTC at the University of Iowa: A Report of the Faculty Senate Committee on University Relations with the Federal Government" was moved and seconded. This resolution provided for the initiation of action "leading to the revision or termination of the contracts between the University and the armed forces." It went on to abolish academic credit for ROTC courses, any status or designation of ROTC as an academic department or inter-disciplinary program, and faculty status to officers on active duty with ROTC units. • Immediately after this was seconded a motion was made to approve the resolution that the Senate finally approved. It, too, was seconded, and according to parliamentary procedure this second motion became a "substitute motion" to be voted on. If passed, it was to become the original motion. If defeated, the original motion was to keep its status and would be voted on. • The second resolution—the one finally approved — was an "addendum to the majority report" by Schoner and Weston. • The Senate entered debate on the second —substituted or addendum —resolution thoroughy confused (along with everyone else attending the meeting) and thinking that they were actually debating the merits of ROTC in light of the ramifications of approving the resolution. • After the debate, Faculty Senate Chairman Stow Persons said a private ballot would be used to determine the outcome. Immediately there came a motion for a roll-call vote. This was voted down. Then came an appeal of the chair's decision for a secret ballot. The consensus of the Senate was that a showing of hands had been the traditional technique and should be continued. Hand voting was approved 48-7. • Two votes were taken —each time the same tally, 31-31. •There was no choice now but to take a roll-call vote. This was moved and approved 45-11. The vote was taken and the resolution was approved 31-30. The roof of Calvin Hall practically collapsed under the cheers from the students attending the meeting. Then came a mass exit — students and some Senators —followed by Heffner's statement, followed by even more confusion. • Persons announced that the vote did not constitute approval of the resolution but only approved changing its status from a "substitute motion" to an original motion. • That did not make a whole lot of people happy. There was another motion — for a hand vote —and finally the 37-18 approval. What's to be done now? A committee of three Senators —John Gerber, Donald Johnson, Lloyd Knowler —will "negotiate" with University Pres. Willard Boyd "prompt implementation of the resolution." Prompt implementation will probably mean prompt consideration by the Board of Regents. And, since the Board meets this week, the soonest the question could be brought before them is June 11 or 12, when it meets at the University of Northern Iowa. Action by the Boad, of course, depends greatly on the way the question is brought before it, and the material presented. Even then, it is very likely that the Board will appoint a committee to study the situation first. It is inevitable that the whole process will take time. Therefore, we must all be patient, but firm. For those opposed to ROTC, they must wage an intellectual war. The Board is composed of people who yield little, if any, to pressure. They will want facts and sound opinion —facts and opinion presented in a resonable and unemotional way. The University adminsitration should meet with students —pro and con — and insure student input into criteria to be presented to the Board. More importantly, however, students should organize and not only prepare their own statements for input into the Board but shoud make administrative moves to insure student representation at the meeting or meetings when the Board will make their decision. —Lowell Forte What we need now is a new war To the Editor: Domestic battles, both verbal and physical, concerning our current campaign in Southeast Asia have at last reached an unbearable point. No matter where one turns his ear, there is someone waiting to chastise our endeavors. And the motives under- [missing rest of column] amination. We all cherish our heritage of warfare and realize we must not grow lax in observing it. What is more, we can remember only too well the economic horrors which have resulted from periods of peace in the past. But the fact remains that Vietnam is bad business.
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