Ex-UI professor recalls turbulence of 1970s

By Carla Keppler
The Gazette

IOWA CITY – University of Iowa professor emeritus Robert Engel last week looked back on life at the UI during the turbulent 1970s with tears, sharing remembrances from the perspective of both protester and administrator.

The Old Capitol was a focal point of demonstrations against the Vietnam War on July 26, 1970, when a fire was set on the steps of the historic building, which students occupied on the University of Iowa campus. UI Professor Emeritus Robert Engel recalled those demonstrations in a speech last week at the State Historical Society Building. Photo by The Gazette.

To understand the student unrest on campus and in Iowa City during the Vietnam War era, Engel said during a Wednesday address at the State Historical Society Building, one must have a firm grasp on the cultural climate that dominated the lives of students and faculty.

“There’s a tendency to tell fish stories,” Engel said. “That’s why it’s important to go back through the recorded history.”

Engel shared his experiences with campus rallies and protests but also referenced the 10 hours of oral history he gathered from the UI administrators when Iowa City was one of the nation’s most acrimonious hubs for activism of all sorts.

A major struggle, the former UI administrator said, was defining the university’s role in that activism.

“The boundaries around an institution are fluid,” he said, adding that the administration worked closely with students to iron out struggles. “Whatever challenges we had on campus, we wanted to keep them in our community and not be dealt with by outsiders.”

Administrators like Engel often participated in the demonstrations.

Each Wednesday at noon, Engel recalled, he stood on the corner of Clinton and Washington streets as part of a silent protest against the Vietnam War.

One night, almost 300 UI students and faculty were arrested after breaking into the Old Capitol. When furniture was thrown through windows and small fires were set, police were called in to clear the area.

Robert Engel, 1989 photo

To avoid further upheaval, and in accordance with Engel’s advice, officers gave protesters the option to leave before taking them into custody. Arrests at that time were often purposeful and “for conscience’ sake.”

Looking back, Engel said there is no way the university could have prepared for the mass demonstrations and self-determination prevalent on campuses nationwide in the 1970s.

“There was nothing normal about it,” he said. “These things aren’t rational. This was a movement, a life.”

Engel said the era was a matter of the deepest import and seriousness.

“It was a time that was very difficult, and it’s emotional because of its value,” he said.