DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Student protests, 1972-1973 | 1972-10-15 Des Moines Register Article: ""'The Glamour Of Protest Has Vanished'"" Page 2

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Student protests, 1972-1973

1972-10-15 Des Moines Register Article: ""'The Glamour Of Protest Has Vanished'"" Page 2

DSMR 10/15/72 p.2 (of 3)
Cite Some Concessions by Administration

IOWA ---  
Continued from Page One

get the sense that people are less uptight. It was not as though they were escaping the present, but more of an absorption of the postiveness of the climate on campus."
Relaxed Feeling
Engel and others - student leaders, faculty and staff interviewed here last week - cautioned that the more relaxed feeling on campus should not be interpreted as a "return to the old days."
Those interviewed indicated that the apparent peace is the result of a complex set of circumstances, including an evolving change in the fundamental nature of the "activist" movement here, plus the reduced fears and frustrations of new students. 
In the middle are the thousands of U of I students who did not demonstrate or "get involved" in the first place. The fact that less dramatic events are taking place around these students naturally makes them more visible. 
Also, Engel said, this year's incoming freshman class was different than the last two freshman classes. 
Two years ago, incoming students talked about the world and "humankind in general" at orientation sessions prior to the start of school at Engel's home. A year ago, there was some lightening of the discussion but it still centered on campus problems. 
This year, Engel said incoming freshmen at his home did not want to talk about world problems. Instead, the group played parlor games. 
Engel said the "winding down of the Vietnam war as we know it" accounts for this change in attitudes, at least in part.
"Genuine Interest"
"And locally, over the period of the last three years, there is an increasing awareness on the part of students of the genuine interest of this administration of the interest of the students," Engel said. "We have tried to take students seriously."
Engel cited the sale of beer in the Iowa Memorial Union the highly successful campus shuttle bus system and the liberalization of dormitory rules as some examples. 
One student leader - Michael Pill, 25, a member of the co-operative, the student body executive and a practicing lawyer - said the administration's concessions to students "are just enough crumbs from the table to keep the peasants quiet."
Pill, who was active in the antiwar movement, says flatly "the day of the mass radical organization is over. 
"You won't find me in the streets but what I'm doing doesn't fit into Richard Nixon's America," he said. "What I'm building is a different sort of thing. 
"People aren't fighting in the streets anymore. They are trying to build in their own lives a new sort of politics and family relationships," he continued. 
"For me, Nixon's America is Babylon and if I thought there was a place to run and hide, I would. But I don't think there is such a place."
Pill calls the campus mood, and the country's mood in general "a quiet before the storm."
Women's Lib
Susan Ross, a 20-year-old junior from Dyersville and another member of the co-operative, said groups of students are organizing "around their own interests and defining their own interests. 
"The people who are still in the streets are people who have no politics," Ms. Ross said. "Separatist politics are very important. How can any oppressed group operate in a group which includes the oppressor?"
This is why the women's liberation movement is mostly centered in the local Women's Center now, she said. The day of "ban the bra" marches to gain attention are over and women have now organized into special interest groups. 
Greg Herrick, a junior from Ottumwa and a student senator, accounts for the calmness in this way:
"The great trend of liberalism has lost its sheen," said Herrick, who describes himself as a moderate conservative. 
"The glamour of the issues that students identified with has died down. Now they (students) have started to work more completely on the idealistic goals they demonstrated for. 
"If someone asked me whether there will be riots this year, I'd say it would depend more on the success of the football team rather than the state of the war," Herrick added. 
Grad Students 
Dean Blake, a graduate student formerly of Lexington, Mass., said "all of the radicals have graduated or some are graduate students, like me, who are trying to keep their heads

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DSMR 10/15/72 p.2 (of 3) Cite Some Concessions by Administration IOWA --- Continued from Page One get the sense that people are less uptight. It was not as though they were escaping the present, but more of an absorption of the postiveness of the climate on campus." Relaxed Feeling Engel and others - student leaders, faculty and staff interviewed here last week - cautioned that the more relaxed feeling on campus should not be interpreted as a "return to the old days." Those interviewed indicated that the apparent peace is the result of a complex set of circumstances, including an evolving change in the fundamental nature of the "activist" movement here, plus the reduced fears and frustrations of new students. In the middle are the thousands of U of I students who did not demonstrate or "get involved" in the first place. The fact that less dramatic events are taking place around these students naturally makes them more visible. Also, Engel said, this year's incoming freshman class was different than the last two freshman classes. Two years ago, incoming students talked about the world and "humankind in general" at orientation sessions prior to the start of school at Engel's home. A year ago, there was some lightening of the discussion but it still centered on campus problems. This year, Engel said incoming freshmen at his home did not want to talk about world problems. Instead, the group played parlor games. Engel said the "winding down of the Vietnam war as we know it" accounts for this change in attitudes, at least in part. "Genuine Interest" "And locally, over the period of the last three years, there is an increasing awareness on the part of students of the genuine interest of this administration of the interest of the students," Engel said. "We have tried to take students seriously." Engel cited the sale of beer in the Iowa Memorial Union the highly successful campus shuttle bus system and the liberalization of dormitory rules as some examples. One student leader - Michael Pill, 25, a member of the co-operative, the student body executive and a practicing lawyer - said the administration's concessions to students "are just enough crumbs from the table to keep the peasants quiet." Pill, who was active in the antiwar movement, says flatly "the day of the mass radical organization is over. "You won't find me in the streets but what I'm doing doesn't fit into Richard Nixon's America," he said. "What I'm building is a different sort of thing. "People aren't fighting in the streets anymore. They are trying to build in their own lives a new sort of politics and family relationships," he continued. "For me, Nixon's America is Babylon and if I thought there was a place to run and hide, I would. But I don't think there is such a place." Pill calls the campus mood, and the country's mood in general "a quiet before the storm." Women's Lib Susan Ross, a 20-year-old junior from Dyersville and another member of the co-operative, said groups of students are organizing "around their own interests and defining their own interests. "The people who are still in the streets are people who have no politics," Ms. Ross said. "Separatist politics are very important. How can any oppressed group operate in a group which includes the oppressor?" This is why the women's liberation movement is mostly centered in the local Women's Center now, she said. The day of "ban the bra" marches to gain attention are over and women have now organized into special interest groups. Greg Herrick, a junior from Ottumwa and a student senator, accounts for the calmness in this way: "The great trend of liberalism has lost its sheen," said Herrick, who describes himself as a moderate conservative. "The glamour of the issues that students identified with has died down. Now they (students) have started to work more completely on the idealistic goals they demonstrated for. "If someone asked me whether there will be riots this year, I'd say it would depend more on the success of the football team rather than the state of the war," Herrick added. Grad Students Dean Blake, a graduate student formerly of Lexington, Mass., said "all of the radicals have graduated or some are graduate students, like me, who are trying to keep their heads