DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Student protests, May-December 1971 | 1971-05-11 Daily Iowan Article: ""40 Stage Sit-In in Boyd's Office After Rally on Monday Afternoon""

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Student protests, May-December 1971

1971-05-11 Daily Iowan Article: ""40 Stage Sit-In in Boyd's Office After Rally on Monday Afternoon""

Established in 1868 Iowa City, Iowa 52240-

Sitting In 
About 40 persons staged a sit-in in University of Iowa Pres. Willard Boyd's office Monday. Carrying signs that say "ROTC Must GO - No More Layoffs" and "Same Enemy Same Fight - Workers and Students," the group's efforts were in support of university workers and to demand an end to university support of ROTC. Looking on, center, are Vice Provost Philip Hubbard and Presidential Assistant Rober Engel - Photo by Diane hypes

Di May 11, 1971

40 Stage Sit-In in Boyd's Office After Rally on Monday Afternoon

About 40 people staged a sit-in at University of Iowa Pres. Willard Boyd's office in Jessup Hall Monday after a 12:30 p.m. rally at the Pentacrest. 
The sit-in broke up after it was learned that Boyd was out of town. 
The purpose of the sit-in as announced at the rally, was to demand an end to layoffs of university employees, and an end to university support of the ROTC program on campus. 
Vice Provost Philip Hubbard and Robert Engel, assistant to President Boyd, appeared briefly to discuss the demands of the group. In response to questions about the type of work dormitory maids do and how much they are paid. Hubbard said that he had once  cleaned "johns" to make money, and asked the gathering how many of them could say as much. 
The main themes of the rally on the Pentacrest were that the university engages in sexist and political discrimination in its hiring and firing practices, and in its support of ROTC. 
Steve Carl, one of the organizers of the rally, told the crowd of about 200 people that "the university has threatened to fire any worker who associates with SDS. We must build an alliance with these workers. 
"You notice that when we have budget cuts here, it's never the support of ROTC that gets cut. Instead, workers are laid off." he said. 
A brief "guerrilla theatre" skit centered around the song "We Got Trouble Right Here in River City," and referred to the recent bombing of the Iowa City Civic Center. 
Carl said after the skit that "I regret the tactics of the last few days because it ends up taxing the very people we are trying to support, the working people."
He followed this with a call for the sit-in.
Most of the crowd then left, the rest going to Boyd's office for the sit-in which broke up about half an hour later.

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Established in 1868 Iowa City, Iowa 52240- Sitting In About 40 persons staged a sit-in in University of Iowa Pres. Willard Boyd's office Monday. Carrying signs that say "ROTC Must GO - No More Layoffs" and "Same Enemy Same Fight - Workers and Students," the group's efforts were in support of university workers and to demand an end to university support of ROTC. Looking on, center, are Vice Provost Philip Hubbard and Presidential Assistant Rober Engel - Photo by Diane hypes Di May 11, 1971 40 Stage Sit-In in Boyd's Office After Rally on Monday Afternoon About 40 people staged a sit-in at University of Iowa Pres. Willard Boyd's office in Jessup Hall Monday after a 12:30 p.m. rally at the Pentacrest. The sit-in broke up after it was learned that Boyd was out of town. The purpose of the sit-in as announced at the rally, was to demand an end to layoffs of university employees, and an end to university support of the ROTC program on campus. Vice Provost Philip Hubbard and Robert Engel, assistant to President Boyd, appeared briefly to discuss the demands of the group. In response to questions about the type of work dormitory maids do and how much they are paid. Hubbard said that he had once cleaned "johns" to make money, and asked the gathering how many of them could say as much. The main themes of the rally on the Pentacrest were that the university engages in sexist and political discrimination in its hiring and firing practices, and in its support of ROTC. Steve Carl, one of the organizers of the rally, told the crowd of about 200 people that "the university has threatened to fire any worker who associates with SDS. We must build an alliance with these workers. "You notice that when we have budget cuts here, it's never the support of ROTC that gets cut. Instead, workers are laid off." he said. A brief "guerrilla theatre" skit centered around the song "We Got Trouble Right Here in River City," and referred to the recent bombing of the Iowa City Civic Center. Carl said after the skit that "I regret the tactics of the last few days because it ends up taxing the very people we are trying to support, the working people." He followed this with a call for the sit-in. Most of the crowd then left, the rest going to Boyd's office for the sit-in which broke up about half an hour later.