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University of Iowa anti-war protests, 1970
""Iowa '70: Riot, Rhetoric, Responsibility?"" Page 32
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28 Townspeople Iowa Citians expressed varying reactions to the recent campus disturbances at the University of Iowa. A dominant reaction was the disgust with the destruction of University property. However thoughts varied from "It's just a Communist plot." to "I feel it is sincere and mostly peaceful demonstration against the war in Cambodia an the incidents at Kent State." A number of the people felt that the recent invasion into Cambodia and the Kent State student deaths were the main causes of the protest or the igniting force. "The students were protesting Kent State and the Cambodian War as an extension of things they've been protesting all along," commented one housewife. Another opinion was, "Violence was bad, but the majority of students were non-violent and were speaking out as responsible citizens against the Viet Nam war." Others surveyed had completely different opinions of the causes of disturbances. Several felt that it was simply an opportunity for the students to get out of school early. One person termed it as "a bunch of long-haired hippies attempting to get out of the draft." A similar comment was, "they're a bunch of no good students, who weren't raised with any respect for institutions - bums, like the President said." Others had no idea what the students were protesting and there were some who felt the students didn't even know. Aside from the violence, many citizens felt that there were some advantageous effects resulting from the protests. One of the effects sited was that the protests evoked discussion and an awareness of national issues. Another was that it made people and statesmen of Iowa realize the honest concern of students on the issue of the Viet Nam war. One woman commented, "Letting the students out of school has given people a chance to work on things like canvassing the town for signatures supporting the amendment to cut off funds to Cambodia." Detrimental effects were cited. "This is going to cause troubles with the legislature. A lot of funds will be cut. It's going to hurt endowments from old conservatives, too. Another comment was that the protesting would result in further alienating the students from the older generation. Others felt that the results and effects remain to be seen. "I don't know if it was effective. I fail to see the relation between the strike and the end of the war." Some felt that closing down the school was not an answer to the problem. As one man said, "I don't agree with the students that felt closing down the University is an appropriate way to express disapproval of a foreign policy." One citizen commented, "I'm sorry the University gave in. I really had sympathy with the students, but I hate to see property destroyed. I'm glad they are leaving. I don't think a lot of them were college students." Concerning the violence connected with the protests, most
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28 Townspeople Iowa Citians expressed varying reactions to the recent campus disturbances at the University of Iowa. A dominant reaction was the disgust with the destruction of University property. However thoughts varied from "It's just a Communist plot." to "I feel it is sincere and mostly peaceful demonstration against the war in Cambodia an the incidents at Kent State." A number of the people felt that the recent invasion into Cambodia and the Kent State student deaths were the main causes of the protest or the igniting force. "The students were protesting Kent State and the Cambodian War as an extension of things they've been protesting all along," commented one housewife. Another opinion was, "Violence was bad, but the majority of students were non-violent and were speaking out as responsible citizens against the Viet Nam war." Others surveyed had completely different opinions of the causes of disturbances. Several felt that it was simply an opportunity for the students to get out of school early. One person termed it as "a bunch of long-haired hippies attempting to get out of the draft." A similar comment was, "they're a bunch of no good students, who weren't raised with any respect for institutions - bums, like the President said." Others had no idea what the students were protesting and there were some who felt the students didn't even know. Aside from the violence, many citizens felt that there were some advantageous effects resulting from the protests. One of the effects sited was that the protests evoked discussion and an awareness of national issues. Another was that it made people and statesmen of Iowa realize the honest concern of students on the issue of the Viet Nam war. One woman commented, "Letting the students out of school has given people a chance to work on things like canvassing the town for signatures supporting the amendment to cut off funds to Cambodia." Detrimental effects were cited. "This is going to cause troubles with the legislature. A lot of funds will be cut. It's going to hurt endowments from old conservatives, too. Another comment was that the protesting would result in further alienating the students from the older generation. Others felt that the results and effects remain to be seen. "I don't know if it was effective. I fail to see the relation between the strike and the end of the war." Some felt that closing down the school was not an answer to the problem. As one man said, "I don't agree with the students that felt closing down the University is an appropriate way to express disapproval of a foreign policy." One citizen commented, "I'm sorry the University gave in. I really had sympathy with the students, but I hate to see property destroyed. I'm glad they are leaving. I don't think a lot of them were college students." Concerning the violence connected with the protests, most
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