A CIA RECRUITER WAS WELCOMED TO TINY GRINNELL COLLEGE WEDNESDAY BY ABOUT 40 STUDENTS WHO STAGED A SIT-IN TO PROTEST CIA INTERVENTION IN CENTRAL AMERICA.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00587R000100020045-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 18, 2011
• Sequence Number: 45
• Publication Date: April 10, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2011/03/18: CIA-RDP91-00587R000100020045-2
UNITED PRF5S INTFP ..ATIfNAL
10 Peril 1985
GRIN NF.LL, InlA
A CIA recruiter was welcomed to tiny Grinnell College Wednesday by about
40 students who staged a sit-in to protest CIA intervention in Central
America.
A few demonstrators entered the career services building and occupied the
Pc library while John Hopkins, chief of the CIA's career training program, talked
with students about employment opportunities at the intelligence agency.
"I asked them to leave because they were disrupting other functions of the
office,'' Linda Johnsrud, career services director, said of the protesters.
''They went back out and sat on the lawn..''
Members of the Iowa City chapter of the Progressive Student Network announced
they would hold a similar protest at the University of Iowa campus Thursday.
''We are going to warn them and their employer that the next time they return
to campus -- if the atrocities in Nicaragua and Central America have not been
halted -- we are going to attempt a citizen's arrest,'' said PSN spokesman Joe
Iosbaker.
He said a citizen's arrest is justified on grounds the CIA is to be held
responsible for its actions in Central America.
''We going to deliver a sort of warning, telling them that if they keep
driving 30 miles per hour over the speed limit, they're going to get a ticket,''
Iosbaker said.
The actions at Grinnell and the University of Iowa are related to protests at
the University of Colorado, where 174 demonstrators were arrested Tuesday.
One organizer at the Colorado school cited the CIA's ''open and blatant
violation of the law'' in Central America. The 3010 protesters were gathered to
warn the American public that "we've got to take action to stop them before
they put U.S. troops in (Central America)."
The protesters were arrested by campus security officers after they attempted
to execute a citizen's arrest on the CIA recruiters.
Hopkins, who was in Grinnell between stops at Drake University in Des Moines
and Central College in Pella, said he doesn't mind demonstrations as long as
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they are peaceful.
'This is a democracy,'' he said. He offered to meet with the Grinnell
protesters to discuss their views.
Hopkin's stop at Grinnell was the first visit by a CIA recruiter to the
small, liberal arts college, and marked a divergence from prior recruiting
philosophy.
"Because it's such a large country, we have tended to go to larger
schools,'' Hopkins said, but added, "I have a pet theory that if the NFL can
find some top-notch athletes in small schools then we should be able to find
outstanding individuals too.''
Hopkins said all types of people, not just college students, are attracted to
the agency.
''We have professional people come in -- doctors, engineers, and lawyers with
well-established practices,'' he said.
He said people who apply because of a romantic fantasy about James Bond-type
adventures are quickly set straight in the interview.
''We are looking for people who have a strong interest in foreign policy and
in helping to shape it,'' Hopkins said. ''We are interested in students with a
good academic record, a strong interest in international affairs, good
interpersonal skills and an interest in learning a foreign language.''
He also cited good writing skills and possible overseas experience - such as
travel or study -- as desired qualities in candidates.
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