Augsburg College - Augsburgian Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN)

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■ C««f Out And M ci 2 T0K GEORGE MCGOVERN •(VCfIT COSCfHT BOTTOM LI; FT: In u sheltering 85° Si Melby Hall, presidential hopeful Senator George McGovern (D.-S.Dak.) fielded questions from the audience about his 1972 campaign platform. TOP RIGHT: One of McGovern's Auggic supporters thumbtacks a handbill to a tree announcing the rally. BOTTOM RIGHT: Sen. McGovern, hot and tired after descending from the platform, manages a friendly smile as he doles out autographs for his fans. There was the usual round of admiring, anecdotal (“I knew George McGovern when and sometimes tiresome testimonials from such miscellaneous per- sonalities as Westerman and Donald Peterson, a Wisconsin State Democratic Committeeman. Another introductory speaker was Caroline Taylor, making her pitch for the Minnesota Welfare Rights Or- ganization. Finally, a Hollywood celebrity, whose function one among the bleachers crowd described as sort of like John the Baptist —seemed to have trouble talking. Warren Beatty hemmed and hawed and then said he didn't know what to say, before he finally introduced McGovern. Then there was a lag; and then, a rush of excitement ran through the crowd in the bleachers and onto the gym floor, with many people gazing reverently in the wrong direction, as the Senator finally entered the gym from the south court entrance. This was the big mo- ment. not so much for George McGovern as for his Augsburg followers who crowded 'round the Great Man for his walk to the speaker's stand. Senator McGovern himself was neither wild-eyed nor raving. But he was articulate, both in his short speech and in the question-answer period following, even when he avoided answering some questions outright; one of the audience wanted to know if McGovern was elected president, whether he would rescind the federal order presently forbidding employment of homosexuals by the government. McGovern said in reply that he was opposed personally to discrimination against any mi- nority. The Senator spoke against the war in Vietnam, about domestic issues, and said if necessary, he would sell weapons to the Israelis—this last item caused a minor ripple of dissatisfaction among some anti-war people in the audience. McGovern appealed to the gathering to join with me to build a society we can be proud of here in the United States. In appearance and manner, George McGovern was reminiscent of McCarthy; both men seemingly epit- omize something of the vaguely fatherly, somewhat with-it image younger people just lcft-of-ccnter have been seeking in their politicians ever since Camclot. Many seemed to like what they heard, and McGovern pins were worn alongside Vance Hartke buttons after the Indiana Senator passed through later in the season. There were the predictable objections, of course, to McGovern's chances and his stands on some issues. Dr. Myles C. Stenshoel of the Political Science De- partment expressed concern whether the senator could take the convention, McGovern seems to be gathering a strong locus of support lcft-of-ccnter, going on to observe that such candidates traditionally have never managed to take the middle, the crucial bloc of supporters, in the primaries. Gordon Nelson of the Sociology Department, felt that McGovern's cam- paign was being used by local DFL groups in power plays of their own. Among students, Mike Nelson, chairman of the Campus Republican Club, said that he objected to giving added military aid to Israel, which he de- scribed as undemocratic and as a theocracy. Tom Snell also responded to this issue negatively, and he later added that while McGovern supported the No- vember sixth anti-war demonstration, the senator referred to some of the protesters as a bunch of crazies . In a comic moment of rancor, Snell also accused the senator of wearing eyeshadow, but mod- erated somewhat when told make-up is an occupational necessity for politicians capering under the warm glow of television spotlights. McGovern spoke to a variety of concerns, in a way calculated to appeal to all. and predictably he did not succeed in pleasing everyone. In his wake, there was the usual furor of speculation, just who would succeed in winning the democratic nomination in ’72? And, more importantly, who would be the next Pres- ident of the United States? 11

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Hot Rally on a Wet Night McGovern Comes to Augsburg by Emmett Smith If you keep on singin' sones To the people who won’t iiaicn To the things that you are sayin’. Who do you think is gonna hear? And if you should die explainin' Mow the things that they complain about Are things they should be changin'. Who do you think is gonna care ...? So goes the refrain of Kris Kristoffcrson’s song, “Beat the Devil.” Singing it this time was Sioux folksinger Floyd Westerman. and his point in singing it to the nearly 4000 people gathered in Melby Hall on the night of October first. 1971. was perfectly clear if Augsburg students did care about such issues as war. poverty, and pollution, they had one choice, to campaign in support of South Dakota Senator George McGovern, then busily pursuing the Democratic nomination for president in 1972. By the time McGovern reached the Augsburg campus that rainy night in early au- tumn. his pre-convention campaign was in high gear. McGovern was running hard. And late I've lost ten pounds since last spring.” he said after arriving at Melby Hall fifteen minutes behind schedule. Some speculated that he was too late. McGovern's supporters, including in one way or another at that time, Augsburg students Nancy Voss, Bruce Carlson and Tom Snell, said ticket-sales went well: and the Augsburg Echo article published two weeks later reported about $8000 was raised, lending substance to the widely-reported attendance figure of nearly four thousand.” But just after the event there was a rumor that tickets were given away at the last minute in the College Center to pas- sersby. Probably to fill up the gym and make the Senator feel good, spcculaiedoneof McGovern's more fatuous Augs- burg followers when asked later if the story was true. If tic- kets were handed out gratis, to fill up the gymnasium, it was lor the benefit of the media. Television crews from all the major networks were on hand, a first at Augsburg, filming the event. Also there were newsmen from on and off campus. Plainly, the Senator from South Dakota was making his bid both to the students and the newsmen with an able team be- hind him. Sam Lay’s Blues Revival and The Sorry Muthas,” played furiously, whipping up the crowd. As they per- formed, McGovern’s Augsburg supporters, who had first approached McGovern’s team during that summer’s state fair about appearing at the school gym free of charge, were eclipsed by the senator’s own ratpack. On the average, they were young, earnest and modish in their dress (rather than simply shaggy). Scurring about nervously, they sorted out the tangled snarls of the usual last minute crises while the crowd gathered. What? There aren’t ANY telephones! one distraught young woman wailed when told that a re- porter wishing to call off campus would have to dial out through the campus switchboard.

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Oscar Tells All.. . Rapping With the President EDITORS NOTE: ihe AUGSBURG I AN owes a vote of thanks to President Anderson for helping make this article possible. Thanks. Also, an “A” for effort is given to a staff member, wish- ing to remain anonymous, who, fighting a battle with a faulty tape recorder, made two trips to in- terview Anderson and complete this story, which is an unedited, word-for-word conversation. Questions by the AUGSBURG IAN staff Answers by Pres. Oscar Anderson Q: I hate to go through it all again. A: So do I. Q: What is the earliest thing that you remember in your life? A: Well. I don't know what I told you last time, but I guess it was vacationing with my family on a little island out on Puget Sound. All I can remember is that we had a dog. and it was the only dog we ever had. and the dog's name was Pogie. That's about the earliest recollection I think I have. Q: When did the words Augsburg College first become a part of your vocabulary? A: Well. I lived in the cities here, so 1 knew about Augsburg College, which at that time had both a high school and a seminary connected with it. and when I was in high school I remember debating against a debate team from Augs- burg prep school or the Academy as it was called, so I would imagine that one could say back in high school days. Q: What similarities do you see between yourself as a college student when you were and students at Augsburg? A: You mean my own experience as a college student and the students today? Q: Yes. A: Well I suppose that one of the things that was of tremen- dous concern to us back in the depression when I went to college was the problem of money. How to finance your education is a common denominator between the students of my day and the students today. I think there was a sense also at that time of a world-wide depression and there's no doubt that had a great deal to say to our own outlook on things, while the problems of that time were very simple compared to those today: nevertheless, there was a pervasiveness about that particular economic crisis that had a marked effect on the way in which we looked at things. Q: Do you think students are more optimistic today? A: I think they're less optimistic today. I think they tend to be more discouraged, somewhat dispairing because of the complexity and massiveness of the problems and be- cause of certain disillusionmcnts. In the depression we were still sure that if we really tightened our belts and went to work somehow or other we'd survive and we'd make it. We still carried what some people call the old American Dream and I guess somehow or other we managed. I think this comes out very definitely in a book that I’ve been reading entitled HARD TIMES by Eric Turkle. in which he interviews people who lived through the de- pression. In the depression there was no attempt to blame anybody else. Everybody kind of took the blame for him- self and figured he was gonna have to find his own way out of the hole into which we had fallen. Q: What kind of a school did you go to when you were in the elementary grades? A: I started school at a grade school in St. Paul, in what is known as St. Anthony Park. It was a very old building—I understand it was condemned at the time and it stood for another 25 years after that but it was a school that served the community that surrounds the University-St. Paul campus and the Luther Seminary campus, and it was a very interesting community and a very interesting school. I remember my first grade teacher very well because there were a lot of people that had her over her 40 or 50 year tenure as a first grade teacher in St. Anthony Park School. It started out as Murray School, was changed to Gun- nerson School, and its subsequent school, a new one. now is the St. Anthony Park Elementary School. Q: Did you ever play hooky? A: 1 don't recall that I ever did. I am sure that I was tempted to. Q: I think everybody is. What was your favorite subject in high school? A: In high school I think I developed my real interest in his-