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University of Iowa anti-war protests, 1970
""Iowa '70: Riot, Rhetoric, Responsibility?"" Page 35
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SENATORS [photo] State Senator Francis Messerly (Rep. Black Hawk County) visited Iowa City Sunday night, May 10, to discuss present unrest and turmoil on campus and make recommendations for the solution to some university problems. In a dialogue with approximately fifty residents and guests of Christus House Community, he said that he was not "anti-student", but that "some changes are needed" on campus. He then listed three recommendations that he has made to the state legislature concerning the state universities. The first recommendation is that the Board of Regents be elected by the people instead of appointed by the governor. He said, "this would make them more responsive to the will of the people." He referred to the statement made by Dean Schiel of the University of Northern Iowa that no parent, no public official, no student, no college official "should have anything to say" concerning how an instructor will teach his class. He said that the tax payers resent this kind of attitude, and that they deserve to have the Regents more responsive to their will since their taxes support that state universities. He further asserted that a position on the board is presently a "political plum" awarded by the governor without regard to the qualifications of the members. Sen. Messerly's second recommendation is that they members of the faculty be under contract and the tenure be discontinued. He said that although the Board of Regents is charged by law with control of faculty membership, the membership is presently contolled by a faculty committee. He said that instructors should be hired according to their competence in the subject area and the days of teaching they put in, charging that they should do "a day's work for a day's pay." Messerly's third recommendation dealt with the budget of the university and consisted of three parts. The first part was a request for a "line-item" budget. Presently the legislature allocated $200 million to the state universities to spend as they see fit. He claimed that a line-item budget would result in more economy in spending. The second part of the proposal was that the Board of Regents submit to the Senate Appropriations Committee before April 1 a projected tuition cost for the following school year. He emphasized that the legislature has nothing to do with controllng the cost of tuition. The Senator's third proposal wa the students have a say in how their student fee is spent. He said, "for example, if some students did not want to hear Jerry Rubin they should not have to pay for his appearance on campus. The floor was then opened to questions fron the students, and Messerly was asked if he thought a line-item budget and instructor contracts would lead to strict control of the university. The Senator likened the proposed contracts to the public school system where teachers are held to yearly contreacts which designate what they must teach. Another student asserted that, unlike a university, the public schools are not known for their freedom of thought. He cited an example in Independence recently where a teacher was dismissed for expressing he own views and said that contracts may strangle unpopular opinion. Concerning civil disobedience Messerly said that instructors should be allowed to teach about civil disobedience, but should not be allowed to teach the practice of civil disobedience. He said that the government in the United States is 'structured for change" and should be used to bring about desired reforms. When asked to what limits officials should go to keep the university open he replied, "I wish I knew." Messerly said that the war in Vietnam is a national, not a state, issue, but personally he backs Nixon and the experts and believes the President is sincere when he says we are going to get out of Vietnam. He stressed that as a member of the Appropriations Committee he is willing to listen to 31
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SENATORS [photo] State Senator Francis Messerly (Rep. Black Hawk County) visited Iowa City Sunday night, May 10, to discuss present unrest and turmoil on campus and make recommendations for the solution to some university problems. In a dialogue with approximately fifty residents and guests of Christus House Community, he said that he was not "anti-student", but that "some changes are needed" on campus. He then listed three recommendations that he has made to the state legislature concerning the state universities. The first recommendation is that the Board of Regents be elected by the people instead of appointed by the governor. He said, "this would make them more responsive to the will of the people." He referred to the statement made by Dean Schiel of the University of Northern Iowa that no parent, no public official, no student, no college official "should have anything to say" concerning how an instructor will teach his class. He said that the tax payers resent this kind of attitude, and that they deserve to have the Regents more responsive to their will since their taxes support that state universities. He further asserted that a position on the board is presently a "political plum" awarded by the governor without regard to the qualifications of the members. Sen. Messerly's second recommendation is that they members of the faculty be under contract and the tenure be discontinued. He said that although the Board of Regents is charged by law with control of faculty membership, the membership is presently contolled by a faculty committee. He said that instructors should be hired according to their competence in the subject area and the days of teaching they put in, charging that they should do "a day's work for a day's pay." Messerly's third recommendation dealt with the budget of the university and consisted of three parts. The first part was a request for a "line-item" budget. Presently the legislature allocated $200 million to the state universities to spend as they see fit. He claimed that a line-item budget would result in more economy in spending. The second part of the proposal was that the Board of Regents submit to the Senate Appropriations Committee before April 1 a projected tuition cost for the following school year. He emphasized that the legislature has nothing to do with controllng the cost of tuition. The Senator's third proposal wa the students have a say in how their student fee is spent. He said, "for example, if some students did not want to hear Jerry Rubin they should not have to pay for his appearance on campus. The floor was then opened to questions fron the students, and Messerly was asked if he thought a line-item budget and instructor contracts would lead to strict control of the university. The Senator likened the proposed contracts to the public school system where teachers are held to yearly contreacts which designate what they must teach. Another student asserted that, unlike a university, the public schools are not known for their freedom of thought. He cited an example in Independence recently where a teacher was dismissed for expressing he own views and said that contracts may strangle unpopular opinion. Concerning civil disobedience Messerly said that instructors should be allowed to teach about civil disobedience, but should not be allowed to teach the practice of civil disobedience. He said that the government in the United States is 'structured for change" and should be used to bring about desired reforms. When asked to what limits officials should go to keep the university open he replied, "I wish I knew." Messerly said that the war in Vietnam is a national, not a state, issue, but personally he backs Nixon and the experts and believes the President is sincere when he says we are going to get out of Vietnam. He stressed that as a member of the Appropriations Committee he is willing to listen to 31
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