DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Student protests, 1972-1973 | 1972-10-15 Des Moines Register Article: ""'The Glamour Of Protest Has Vanished'"" Page 3

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Student protests, 1972-1973

1972-10-15 Des Moines Register Article: ""'The Glamour Of Protest Has Vanished'"" Page 3

DSMR 10/15/72

p.3 (of 3)

above water. Some are still around doing other things."
Blake, who was active in a number of causes, said the calm is here "because the paranoia is gone that used to exist when you were either thinking about or doing something you knew was wrong but no one was after you. 
"Now, after the Watergate, the Berrigan trials and Attica one realizes, 'Yes, there are consequences to what you are doing and that this is oppressive system,'" Blake added. "Noe there is no reason to be paranoid because you know they'll get you one way or other."
The day of the all encompassing mass movement on campus is waning. Only one Iowa City group, known as the New American Movement (NAM) still seeks a mass organization to further activist causes. It is affiliated with a national, socialist organization. 
One NAM worker, Bill Plank of Iowa City who is not a student, said many people in the old "movement" are now working in the system in various ways which accounts for the calm on the surface. 
Michael Vance, 21, a senior from Burlington, was student body vice president last year. He notes "a general apathy on the part of students this year,"
Vance does not think the campus has been struck by a "new wave of conservatism" which some claim has happened. Instead, he thinks there is a general "discontent with some of the New Left movement. I'd say it's a wave of disheartened discontent. Students are saying, 'Why fight because there is nothing I can do'"
Uses Asterisks 
One of the most interesting transformations on campus this year is the Daily Iowan under the editorship of Steven Baker, a graduate student from Brookfield, Wis. 
The Iowan now uses asterisks in "those" four letter words which caused such a ruckus on campuses throughout the country. The Iowan was the center of such a controversy under the editorship of Leona Durham just two years ago. 
"We don't want to alienate advertisers over words that can be seen as dirty," Baker explained. "We want to take that away as an excuse for criticism of our advocating change."
The Iowan occasionally prints "that" word, if the story warrants it. It also uses asterisks in other words which Baker considers dirty, such as "queer" and "nigger"
Casey Mahon, 21, a Des Moines senior who is president of the Panhellenic Association (the organization of 15 social sororities on campus), said more students are "putting their vital interests in realistic projects" rather than pushing for unrealistic demands. 
Miss Mahon also pointed to the noticeable change in campus attire. The "uniform" - a pair of tattered blue jeans and a blue work shirt, or some variation of that theme - is out she said. 
"I have a theory that now that high school dress codes are out in Iowa there is no need to wait to get to college to dress that way," she said. 
Miss Mahon, like most of those interviewed, hinted that the calm on campus might be deceptive. 
"There may still be a quiet outrage," she said. "Something might bring it all back again. But then we've had Kent State, Cambodia, the Eagleton affair, and now the Watergate, so nothing really shocks us anymore."
The students generally agree that there will always be "issues" surfacing on campus in the future. Right now the issue at the U of I seems to be what are the "issues".

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DSMR 10/15/72 p.3 (of 3) above water. Some are still around doing other things." Blake, who was active in a number of causes, said the calm is here "because the paranoia is gone that used to exist when you were either thinking about or doing something you knew was wrong but no one was after you. "Now, after the Watergate, the Berrigan trials and Attica one realizes, 'Yes, there are consequences to what you are doing and that this is oppressive system,'" Blake added. "Noe there is no reason to be paranoid because you know they'll get you one way or other." The day of the all encompassing mass movement on campus is waning. Only one Iowa City group, known as the New American Movement (NAM) still seeks a mass organization to further activist causes. It is affiliated with a national, socialist organization. One NAM worker, Bill Plank of Iowa City who is not a student, said many people in the old "movement" are now working in the system in various ways which accounts for the calm on the surface. Michael Vance, 21, a senior from Burlington, was student body vice president last year. He notes "a general apathy on the part of students this year," Vance does not think the campus has been struck by a "new wave of conservatism" which some claim has happened. Instead, he thinks there is a general "discontent with some of the New Left movement. I'd say it's a wave of disheartened discontent. Students are saying, 'Why fight because there is nothing I can do'" Uses Asterisks One of the most interesting transformations on campus this year is the Daily Iowan under the editorship of Steven Baker, a graduate student from Brookfield, Wis. The Iowan now uses asterisks in "those" four letter words which caused such a ruckus on campuses throughout the country. The Iowan was the center of such a controversy under the editorship of Leona Durham just two years ago. "We don't want to alienate advertisers over words that can be seen as dirty," Baker explained. "We want to take that away as an excuse for criticism of our advocating change." The Iowan occasionally prints "that" word, if the story warrants it. It also uses asterisks in other words which Baker considers dirty, such as "queer" and "nigger" Casey Mahon, 21, a Des Moines senior who is president of the Panhellenic Association (the organization of 15 social sororities on campus), said more students are "putting their vital interests in realistic projects" rather than pushing for unrealistic demands. Miss Mahon also pointed to the noticeable change in campus attire. The "uniform" - a pair of tattered blue jeans and a blue work shirt, or some variation of that theme - is out she said. "I have a theory that now that high school dress codes are out in Iowa there is no need to wait to get to college to dress that way," she said. Miss Mahon, like most of those interviewed, hinted that the calm on campus might be deceptive. "There may still be a quiet outrage," she said. "Something might bring it all back again. But then we've had Kent State, Cambodia, the Eagleton affair, and now the Watergate, so nothing really shocks us anymore." The students generally agree that there will always be "issues" surfacing on campus in the future. Right now the issue at the U of I seems to be what are the "issues".