DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | University of Iowa anti-war protests, 1970 | ""Iowa '70: Riot, Rhetoric, Responsibility?"" Page 28

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University of Iowa anti-war protests, 1970

""Iowa '70: Riot, Rhetoric, Responsibility?"" Page 28

24

CAMPUS QUIETED
Students who remained on campus had a veriety of resons, some political, some materialistic, for their decision to stay.
Sheri Davenport, a sophomore from Storm Lake, said, "I didn't fear for my life. I was very much involved in the political activities down here. If people like my parents would come here, they would realize that the people who are active are not communists, but honor students and the boy next door, people who know how to think."
"I'm still officially a student," said Ronald Rife, "I don't really see a connection between all this destruction and and the war. I'm against the war in Southeast Asia- I signed the statements supporting the 609 amendment. But I'm willing to go along with Nixon's statement on going into Cambodia for six or eight weeks, but after that. . . ? I think that it is a small minority that really felt strongly enough to call the strike. The rest of them just saw an easy out. I guess I look on ttaying in school as fulfilling a contract between myself and the University."
Another student decided to drop his classes because of grade reasons, "I had a four point going and I didn't want to wreak it with anything happening during final week. I guess I'm rather indifferent in the political area. I never really feared for my life - I don't think anybody else did either."
Two workmen were scrubbing off the giant ROTC letters painted onto the pillars in front of the Old Capitol during the height of activity on campus.
I asked them what they thought of what had been going on. One said, "I think they could spend their time doing more than all this destructive stuff. If they knew how much it costs to do something like this, maybe they wouldn't do it."
The other scrubber seemed to look at things from more of an historical standpoint. He said, "Students found useful things to do before, why can't they find something useful to do nowadays?"
Carole Auerbach, a senior from New York, expressed her fears that many of our freedoms are under a serious threat from the government, a fear that pervaded much of the recent activities on the nation's campuses.
She said, "Freedom cannot be guarranteed by the constitution - it must be fought for. It must be in the hearts of the people. But when one minority group is persecuted, no ones freedom is safe, no one's freedom can be guarranteed. I see a Nazi Germany beginning in the United States when the government uses such oppressive and violent tactics to quell the protests of its citizens."
It appears that campus unrest has been swept under the rug for the summer and to many it's back to business as usual. But even though 'STUDENTS RIOT" has gone out of the headlines for a while, opinions on both sides of the political fence are still aired on at least one campus.

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24 CAMPUS QUIETED Students who remained on campus had a veriety of resons, some political, some materialistic, for their decision to stay. Sheri Davenport, a sophomore from Storm Lake, said, "I didn't fear for my life. I was very much involved in the political activities down here. If people like my parents would come here, they would realize that the people who are active are not communists, but honor students and the boy next door, people who know how to think." "I'm still officially a student," said Ronald Rife, "I don't really see a connection between all this destruction and and the war. I'm against the war in Southeast Asia- I signed the statements supporting the 609 amendment. But I'm willing to go along with Nixon's statement on going into Cambodia for six or eight weeks, but after that. . . ? I think that it is a small minority that really felt strongly enough to call the strike. The rest of them just saw an easy out. I guess I look on ttaying in school as fulfilling a contract between myself and the University." Another student decided to drop his classes because of grade reasons, "I had a four point going and I didn't want to wreak it with anything happening during final week. I guess I'm rather indifferent in the political area. I never really feared for my life - I don't think anybody else did either." Two workmen were scrubbing off the giant ROTC letters painted onto the pillars in front of the Old Capitol during the height of activity on campus. I asked them what they thought of what had been going on. One said, "I think they could spend their time doing more than all this destructive stuff. If they knew how much it costs to do something like this, maybe they wouldn't do it." The other scrubber seemed to look at things from more of an historical standpoint. He said, "Students found useful things to do before, why can't they find something useful to do nowadays?" Carole Auerbach, a senior from New York, expressed her fears that many of our freedoms are under a serious threat from the government, a fear that pervaded much of the recent activities on the nation's campuses. She said, "Freedom cannot be guarranteed by the constitution - it must be fought for. It must be in the hearts of the people. But when one minority group is persecuted, no ones freedom is safe, no one's freedom can be guarranteed. I see a Nazi Germany beginning in the United States when the government uses such oppressive and violent tactics to quell the protests of its citizens." It appears that campus unrest has been swept under the rug for the summer and to many it's back to business as usual. But even though 'STUDENTS RIOT" has gone out of the headlines for a while, opinions on both sides of the political fence are still aired on at least one campus.