DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Daily Iowan and Leona Durham controversy, 1970-1972 | Des Moines Register Article: "Fired Editor: I'm Notorious"

Transcribe
Translate

Daily Iowan and Leona Durham controversy, 1970-1972

Des Moines Register Article: "Fired Editor: I'm Notorious" - Continued

[illegible first line]
was hired by the Board of Student Publications to be editor of the Daily Iowan, the student newspaper; then was not allowed to take over on May 11, the scheduled date, and finally, she was fired. 
Board members - five students and four professors - decided Miss Durham should not assume the editorship of May 11 because the campus was in turmoil and an inexperienced editor could aggravate a touchy situation. 
Miss Durham called the delay "political censorship," contending her view of the world, not her lack of experience in it, prompted the board's action. 
The board voted on May 14 to terminate Miss Durham's contract, saying it had become clear that she and the board could not work in mutual trust. There was a also a question of Miss Durham's ability to operate the newspaper, according to some sources on the board. 
Since then, the Iowa Civil Liberties Union has investigated the dismissal and the board has named a fact-finding commission. 
Miss Durham says she is confident the commission will support her and the publications board will be forced to rename her as editor, a job that pays about #3,000 annually. 
Miss Durham has long brown hair, wears no make-up and, when asked her age, says she is a post-World War II baby, but "it's not a fair thing to ask a woman."
Miss Durham considers herself neither immature nor a troublemaker. And one comes away thinking she does, indeed, seem a little mellow to have become even a minor cause celebre. 
She completed high school and college (Wichita State University) in Wichita, Kan., the first member of her family to attend college. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in English in the spring of 1969, she went to Berkeley, Calif., for five months, worked for a computer firm there and saved enough money to start graduate work at the U of I last fall. 
At Wichita State she helped edit two alumni publications, one a newpaper, one a magazine; co-edited a literary magazine and worked on the sunflower, the tri-weekly student newspaper. 
In 1968 Miss Durham helped organize the McCarthy campaign in Wichita. She says she finally voted for Hubert Humphrey in the 1968 election because he "struck the least terror in my heart. But that was two years ago," she adds, indicating that she would not [illegible line] kinds of words. It's a mistake to dehumanize people." She says she is "too nervous to participate in any more mass rallies, fearing violence, mass arrests and "concentration camps, which loom in my mind." 
On the other hand, she believes rallies serve their pur- [illegible line] paper. I saw her protest an intersection here - was lying in the street."
"I don't think she [illegible] know what unbiased would b[illegible]
Forte also claims that [cut-off] of the staff members Miss [cut-off] ham chose "knew absolut [cut-off] nothing about putting out a [cut-off] per."

Saving...

[illegible first line] was hired by the Board of Student Publications to be editor of the Daily Iowan, the student newspaper; then was not allowed to take over on May 11, the scheduled date, and finally, she was fired. Board members - five students and four professors - decided Miss Durham should not assume the editorship of May 11 because the campus was in turmoil and an inexperienced editor could aggravate a touchy situation. Miss Durham called the delay "political censorship," contending her view of the world, not her lack of experience in it, prompted the board's action. The board voted on May 14 to terminate Miss Durham's contract, saying it had become clear that she and the board could not work in mutual trust. There was a also a question of Miss Durham's ability to operate the newspaper, according to some sources on the board. Since then, the Iowa Civil Liberties Union has investigated the dismissal and the board has named a fact-finding commission. Miss Durham says she is confident the commission will support her and the publications board will be forced to rename her as editor, a job that pays about #3,000 annually. Miss Durham has long brown hair, wears no make-up and, when asked her age, says she is a post-World War II baby, but "it's not a fair thing to ask a woman." Miss Durham considers herself neither immature nor a troublemaker. And one comes away thinking she does, indeed, seem a little mellow to have become even a minor cause celebre. She completed high school and college (Wichita State University) in Wichita, Kan., the first member of her family to attend college. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in English in the spring of 1969, she went to Berkeley, Calif., for five months, worked for a computer firm there and saved enough money to start graduate work at the U of I last fall. At Wichita State she helped edit two alumni publications, one a newpaper, one a magazine; co-edited a literary magazine and worked on the sunflower, the tri-weekly student newspaper. In 1968 Miss Durham helped organize the McCarthy campaign in Wichita. She says she finally voted for Hubert Humphrey in the 1968 election because he "struck the least terror in my heart. But that was two years ago," she adds, indicating that she would not [illegible line] kinds of words. It's a mistake to dehumanize people." She says she is "too nervous to participate in any more mass rallies, fearing violence, mass arrests and "concentration camps, which loom in my mind." On the other hand, she believes rallies serve their pur- [illegible line] paper. I saw her protest an intersection here - was lying in the street." "I don't think she [illegible] know what unbiased would b[illegible] Forte also claims that [cut-off] of the staff members Miss [cut-off] ham chose "knew absolut [cut-off] nothing about putting out a [cut-off] per."