Page Eight

The Grinnnii REPORTER

Friday. April l4, I967

 

lSli: ls Reaction What's Happening?

By Craig Allin

A resolution for the impeachment and
removal from office of Donald Smith,
Iowa State University student body
president, was Introduced In their stu-
dent senate Tuesday night and was
tabled pending the outcome of a stu.
dent referendum.

The impeachment proceedings were
brought against Smith by Roger Christen»
sen, Vice chairman of the Senate. The
proceedings stemmed'froirl a story re-
leased by the Iowa State Daily, which
stated that Smith had attended a party
where marijuana was smoked and
that a photographer from Life maga-
Zine was also present. it would ap—
pear that the resolution of impeachment
is only the most recent episode in a
power struggle which has engaged sev-
eral members of the ISU Government
of the Student Body (GSB) ever since
Smith’s election.

Tuesday, March 16, Smith appeared,
clad in sweatshirt, bearded, sockless.
and unlaced, to deliver his State of
the Campus Address to the student
senate. He criticized current trends in
university education. “Theoretically,"
said Smith, “universities are servants
of the truth, but they are becoming
servants at industry and the military."
He presented his program in a Bill of
Rights calling for student regulation of
all activities outside the classroom. The
preamble states, “It is the job of the
administration to supply the student
with the best instructors and facilities
possible. It is not the job of the ad-
ministration to regulate the personal
lives of the student body."

Point one of his five part program
may strike a familiar chord among
Grinnellians. it states, “NO student
shall be expelled or suspended except
for academic failure." Other points deal
with dormitory regulations, release of
grades. and student government finances.

President Smith claims that there was
talk of his impeachment the night of
his election and that opposition has not
grown signiticantly in the wake of the
marijuana storyr Those supporting the
impeachment feel that Smith’s support
among students has been eroded.

It is significant that the impeachment
charges, while they have been instigated
by the forces of political conservatism,
have not maligned the Smith program
as stated in the Bill of Rights. The
attacks on Smith have rather been of
a personal or emotional nature, center-
ing around the vague charge of violation
of the best interests of the university.

Specifically Smith has been charged
-With the use of "narcotic drugs that
are illegal.” i.e,, marijuana; with “gross
derogation of the Iowa General Assem~
lily," a reference to his remark that

contraception might have limited the
number of “bastards” in the Iowa legis-
lature; end with pursuing a disruptive
course of conduct with regard to the
news media. It Is charged that these
acts “constitute malfeasance in the
duties and responsibilities related to the
office."

Evidence brought to prove malfeasance
consisted mostly of quotations from
alumni and legislators stating a dis-
satisfaction \vith the “new ISU image."

The issues are further clouded by
unusual procedure and by speculation
as to the motives of some of the
principal characters. The ISU student
senate represents s p e c i a1 interests,
e.g,, the lnteriraternity Council or the
College of Veternary Medicine, This helps
explain how Smith, who was elected
at large, could receive over 40 per cent
of the vote among four candidates and
simultaneously be presented with a Sen<
ate made up of only tour Smith support-
ers or a total oi nineteen members. Only
about half the campus cast ballots in the
recent election and there is some reason
to believe that many signing the im-
peachment petitions had not; voted when
the opportunity existed.

Senator Christensen, who introduced
the impeachment resolution, stood. un-
til Tuesday night, third in the line of
succession to Smith's position. This is
important in the light of a statement
by Mary Lou Lifka, student body vice
president, second in succession and a
Smith supporter, that she would resign
if Smith was removed from officer in
order to demonstrate the apolitical
nature of his intentions, Christensen of-
fered to resign his position in the line
of succession.

The resultant situation is interesting
i n d e e d . If Smith is removed from
Office, there will be no one to succeed
him. Under these circumstances, it is
the prerogative of the senate to elect
a president from among its own .ranks.
The final irony is that even the majority
of the conservative faction Within the
senate appears to be splitting, and not
without some political backstabbing. It
would seem that while their battle is
not yet won, the anti-Smith forces have
already fallen to fighting over the
spoils.

A referendum scheduled for today,
which Smith felt would indicate that a
majority supported him, was canceled
by the Student Supreme Court because
the courtfelt it would introduce prejudi-
cial evidence in the impeachment trial.
It is evident that the anti-Smith coalition
has the votes it needs to require re-
moval. The senate faction has nothing
to lose; the senators, unlike the presi-

dent, are not subject to recall by their ,

constituents.

 

} Smith

(Continued from Page i)

keeps you from running into problems
which might arise.”

Smith’s speech is plain When he use!
big words, it just doesn't sound right.
He rarely uses cliches. When he Is ire
ritated or mad, he doesn't raise his voice
or change its quality greatly. The change
in his voice is subtle yet noticeable,

In an interview with the Iowa State
belly, Smith was asked what his par-
ents think of all that has happened to
him. ”Ick.” he replied. He further ex-
plained that he had gotten on poorly
with his parents even before his elec-
tion, though for the iirst seventeen years
of his life he attended church regularly.
“Primarily it is because my dad is such
a staunch Catholic. I don‘t go along
with all that moral shit.” He now calls
himself an ”agnostic."

If he is impeached. and it now ap

pears likely, Smith is a prime candle
date for martyrdom. He has the dev0<
tion of a large segment of the interested
students, and as an Iowa State stu-
dent leader, he seems to be the only
prominent one not acting out of
selfish motives. He might be seen as
the idealist come to grief.

"The betrayal oi my trust by certain
reporters and the following sensational
journalism has brought to lite the tact
that i have smoked marijuana, i do
not deny this I do not deny that this
limits my eilectiveness as president or
the student body.

“I realize that I will be closely
Watched in the future. I have heard
of cases where marIJuana was planted
in apartments by police. The only il-
legal drugs that narcotics agents could
find in my apartment would be those
that they bring in themselves. I will
have no difficulty living without mari-
iuana."

“Marijuana is not an addictive drug,

} lntervtew
(Continued from Page I)

who they could live with. This means
that they can’t make girls live in the
dorms if they don’t want to. And I
think of what's left. the most important
thing i want to see passed is the part
about not allowing the university to ex-
pel any student except for academic
failure.

REPORTER: How much effect doe:
any senate action have on the admins
istratlon of the university?

SMITH: Legally, it’s only a recom-
mendation, but I think that if we get
the students behind us we can get
these changes brought about.

REPORTER: Many pe rso n s have
charged you with inaction. What is your
reaction to this?

SMITH: Well, the thing is, I prom-
lsed during the campaign that if I was
elected I would try to bring all my
changes about through the normal chan-
nels. and the normal channels take
time. The student senators asked for
time to investigate all my proposals end
the Bill of Rights and that’s what
they’re doing. They’re looking into these
things before they vote yes or no.

REPORTER: Has there been any
movement to push for the removal of
restriction on the coeducational use of
dormitory rooms?

SMITH: Yes. I think that this should
be turned over to the individual dorm-
itories involved—and that would be in-
cluded in the Bill of Rights—the part
about the rules that Students live un-
der, a part that has not been passed
yeti

REPORTER: DO you think student
opposition to you will hurt your pm
grams?

SMITH: Most opposition has been, at
least supposedly, on the marijuana

nor does it necessarily lead to hard
narcotics. The primary reason it is
illegal is that the legalization would
greatly harm the liquor industry, which
carries a large amount of financial and
political power."

“I have also been accused by those
in the New Lelt of not devoting enough
work to my office. i do not feel that
I can or should staiitl alone to defend
my belieis or implement my programs.
Why have you New Leit students not
contacted your senators about my pro«
grams? Where were you when Presie
dent Parks criticized my Bill of Rights?
Why haven‘t you written letters to the
Daily? Iriow many students outside the
New Left ilave you spoken with? — l
am only human. I can‘t do all of these
things alone."

Photo or Don Smith by Susan Kazsoi’

“. . . my vision of the future of student government is that
it will have actual power and make the actual deci ions."

thing and not on the basis of my pro-
grams.

REPORTER: What do you think will
happen to the effort to impeach your

SMITH: Well, the senate has alwayl
stressed that they want time to inves-
tigate anything they do and as for an
the impeachment is concerned, the Sell.-
stors I’ve talked to are going to table
it at least tor a week to discuss it
and let this thing cool off before they
reach any definite decision.

REPORTER: would you say that til!
elements which are aiming at impeach-
ment are elements that feel that the
situation has changed since the election
or have these elements been diametric-
ally opposed to you throughout the cam-
paign?

SMITH: The people who are trying
to impeach me are overwhelmingly pm
pie who have always been diametrically
opposed to me.

REPORTER: What is your general
philosophy about student life?

SMITH: Well. we’ve got 15,000 stu-
dents here living together in a small
group and under the present situation
we’ve got to have some rules to live
under. In the past these rules have
come down from the administration.
The students have been sort of a colony.
But what I’d like to see in the future
is Student government take over this
role of the rule»maker.

REPORTER: How far would you like
to go in this student decision makingr

SMITH: I think the eventual goal
would be With the administration just
setting up classes and telling us when
to be there,

REPORTER: Do you think that silk
dents are mature enough to handle
this freedom?

SMITH: I think they are. I think this
is the very way they’ll have to learn
to make decisions because when they
get out of college they're going to be
thrust into this position.

REPORTER: What is the relationship
from your point of view between the
university and the student body and
the state legislature?

SMITH: Well, a lot of criticism ill
the legislature I feel has been unfounded
and I have offered to speak to them
as a body or to any individual legis<
lator about what's happening at Iowa
State. As of yet, no legislator has ac.
cepted my invitation.

ADDRESS HEREI

 

