DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Student protests, 1972-1973 | 1972-05-10 Iowa City Press-Citizen Article: ""Highway Patrolmen To Remain on Duty in Iowa City"" Page 5

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Student protests, 1972-1973

1972-05-10 Iowa City Press-Citizen Article: ""Highway Patrolmen To Remain on Duty in Iowa City"" Page 5

"Highway Patrolmen to Remain on Duty in Iowa City" 
P-C 5/10/72
p.5 (of 6)

Protest 
From Page 1A

cruising on Riverside Drive were the targets of a few stones hurled from the terraces before the crowd broke up. 
The night's activity began about 7:30 p.m. as a crowd massed on the Pentacrest in spite of a ban on demonstrations ordered Monday by UI President Willard L. Boyd. 
As people steamed in from all directions to join the gathering, staring motorists clogged Clinton Street with their cars. 
The leaderless gathering of about 500 listened for about 90 minutes to speakers with conflicting ideas about how to protest President Nixon's decision to mine North Vietnamese harbors. 
Some urged an attack on the university's Reserve Officers Training Corps headquarters, while others called for an occupation of Jessup Hall, the UI administrative building, which was picketed during the evening by a small group of protesters. 
Repeated calls for marching or blocking traffic failed to move the crowd until shortly after 9 p.m. when a speaker urged the demonstrators to "go someplace where we can be seen."
They chose the intersection of Clinton Street and Iowa Avenue, marching north from there to the Clinton Street dormitories, where people steaming out of the residence halls swelled the crowd to the greatest size it reached all evening, estimated at about 2,000.
Stretching out over four blocks, the column moved east on Davenport Street, then south on Dubuque Street, preceded by a handful of student monitors who turned traffic aside, Small squads of law officers eyed the march from the sidewalks and radioed information to the Emergency Operations Center in the Civic Center. 
Continuing through the business district, the marchers turned west on Burlington and headed for Riverside Drive, where several hundred of them sat down on the pavement, while others lined the railings on over head footbridges. 
Helmeted Highway Patrolmen massed in front of the UI Field House, at the top of the Grand Avenue hill overlooking the intersection, and began their march toward the blocked intersection about 10 p.m. 
As they advanced down the hill, the officers were the targets of several large firecrackers tossed from one of the footbridges. Clearly the footbridges, the troopers nervously eyed small groups of people on the roof of Hillcrest Dormitory. 
An order to disperse failed to clear the intersection, where the protesters began chanting antiwar slogans and calling for UI President Boyd to meet with them. 
Patrolmen also failed to move the demonstrators with an offer to escort them to College Hill Park, on the opposite side of the river, where an antiwar vigil was to take place. 
Finally, an impromptu strategy session at the end of the Burlington Street bridge resulted in a plan to surround the crowd on three sides and force it westward out of the intersection. 
Reinforcements arrived as the crowd began singing "The Star Spangled Banner." Lawmen moved in, pushing most of the protesters up the hill and arresting those who remained in the intersection. 
Abandoning the Burlington Street intersection, the crowd moved north, briefly occupying the intersection of Iowa Avenue and Riverside Drive and moving back and forth across the bridge between Riverside and the Pentacrest. 
About 300 demonstrators regrouped at the Pentacrest, moved out toward Duuque Street, then doubled back and lined Clinton Street between Iowa Avenue and Washington Street. 
A missile glanced harmlessly off a window at Clinton and Washington, while many in the crowd shouted "No! No!"

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"Highway Patrolmen to Remain on Duty in Iowa City" P-C 5/10/72 p.5 (of 6) Protest From Page 1A cruising on Riverside Drive were the targets of a few stones hurled from the terraces before the crowd broke up. The night's activity began about 7:30 p.m. as a crowd massed on the Pentacrest in spite of a ban on demonstrations ordered Monday by UI President Willard L. Boyd. As people steamed in from all directions to join the gathering, staring motorists clogged Clinton Street with their cars. The leaderless gathering of about 500 listened for about 90 minutes to speakers with conflicting ideas about how to protest President Nixon's decision to mine North Vietnamese harbors. Some urged an attack on the university's Reserve Officers Training Corps headquarters, while others called for an occupation of Jessup Hall, the UI administrative building, which was picketed during the evening by a small group of protesters. Repeated calls for marching or blocking traffic failed to move the crowd until shortly after 9 p.m. when a speaker urged the demonstrators to "go someplace where we can be seen." They chose the intersection of Clinton Street and Iowa Avenue, marching north from there to the Clinton Street dormitories, where people steaming out of the residence halls swelled the crowd to the greatest size it reached all evening, estimated at about 2,000. Stretching out over four blocks, the column moved east on Davenport Street, then south on Dubuque Street, preceded by a handful of student monitors who turned traffic aside, Small squads of law officers eyed the march from the sidewalks and radioed information to the Emergency Operations Center in the Civic Center. Continuing through the business district, the marchers turned west on Burlington and headed for Riverside Drive, where several hundred of them sat down on the pavement, while others lined the railings on over head footbridges. Helmeted Highway Patrolmen massed in front of the UI Field House, at the top of the Grand Avenue hill overlooking the intersection, and began their march toward the blocked intersection about 10 p.m. As they advanced down the hill, the officers were the targets of several large firecrackers tossed from one of the footbridges. Clearly the footbridges, the troopers nervously eyed small groups of people on the roof of Hillcrest Dormitory. An order to disperse failed to clear the intersection, where the protesters began chanting antiwar slogans and calling for UI President Boyd to meet with them. Patrolmen also failed to move the demonstrators with an offer to escort them to College Hill Park, on the opposite side of the river, where an antiwar vigil was to take place. Finally, an impromptu strategy session at the end of the Burlington Street bridge resulted in a plan to surround the crowd on three sides and force it westward out of the intersection. Reinforcements arrived as the crowd began singing "The Star Spangled Banner." Lawmen moved in, pushing most of the protesters up the hill and arresting those who remained in the intersection. Abandoning the Burlington Street intersection, the crowd moved north, briefly occupying the intersection of Iowa Avenue and Riverside Drive and moving back and forth across the bridge between Riverside and the Pentacrest. About 300 demonstrators regrouped at the Pentacrest, moved out toward Duuque Street, then doubled back and lined Clinton Street between Iowa Avenue and Washington Street. A missile glanced harmlessly off a window at Clinton and Washington, while many in the crowd shouted "No! No!"