I want to talk to you all about conflict of interest. The kind of conflict of interest President Martin Jischke is being accused of on http://call.to/jischke. This subject has been floating around for a while, but it appears to be coming to a head, so let’s pop it together.

People are always talking about bias, so I know you hate it. “The Daily editorial board’s biased opinion …” “Mr. Godar’s opinion column reeks of Nazi bias …” “Greg Jerrett should be shot out of a cannon for being biased …” Having an opinion doesn’t mean you are biased, it just means you have an opinion. It’s our job to have opinions and spout off about them. If columnists don’t have opinions, they are Dave Barry.

I write columns about issues, and I am a flaming leftist.

That’s not bias, that’s my position. I make no bones about it, and whether you agree with me or not, you can take what I say at face value every time. There are no secrets here. I am not getting electronics from the Kremlin. I don’t have a box of Cubans on my desk from Fidel. The only Chinese I am routinely involved with is takeout Mongolian beef.

Ethics are sticky because they are often outside the law and, to a large extent, morality. I can’t accept gifts, did you know that? It may not be illegal or immoral, but I can’t because THAT might bias my opinion.

For example, I could accept free drinks from various Campustown bars just for mentioning them in my columns week after week.

It isn’t illegal or immoral, it is just damn wrong. It makes it hard for me to do my job right. It is also boring. I accept this.

I was once offered free tickets to see movies by a theater manager so I could review his movies. Sounds legitimate, but I had to decline because of ethics. It would have put me on very shaky ground. One or two people might care what I think about movies and rely on my unbiased opinions of them.

I could argue that I would not allow myself to be influenced one way or the other just for free tickets. If I hate a movie, I hate it, and no amount of graft or free popcorn is going to make me say I liked it, right?

But that isn’t good enough. I might go overboard to prove to myself I am not biased, and that would be just as bad. You can never know. That is why it is also a good idea to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. This helps me maintain my street credibility.

Professors should not screw students. Even if those students aren’t in their class or department. It is a violation of the sacred trust between a respected mentor and someone who is, by definition, not their equal. There is also a power differential. If a relationship ends badly, a professor can theoretically affect a student’s career. It makes the institution look like a whorehouse as well and is therefore unethical.

We have quite a few people getting up in arms about President Jischke’s corporate alliance right now, while others are asking what the big deal is.

The conflict of interest isn’t clearly spelled out for Dr. J. like it is for me, but whether the Board of Regents gave him permission or not, it is a conflict because this is one time when the lowly rabble have every right to demand a highly ethical stance from their leader.

The state of Iowa spells out in black and white what is wrong here. If President Jischke is conducting business during working hours using Iowa State facilities, it is not only a conflict of interest for ethical reasons, but for legal reasons, as this behavior is clearly prohibited in section 68B.2A of the Iowa Code.

But let’s assume for a moment that the only thing Dr. Jischke is doing is getting paid to sit on corporate boards that have a vested interest in Iowa State’s money and research. He became president of Iowa State in 1991, joined the board of Banker’s trust in 1993, and in 1997 Iowa State consolidates five different accounts into one at Banker’s Trust. It raises questions. It looks suspicious, and that is where the appearance of impropriety comes into play. That is why he shouldn’t be on the board of Banker’s Trust to begin with.

Iowa State has a mission to educate students, and when those students take a back seat to research, it is wrong. President Jischke is the primary caretaker of this mission.

Kerr-McGee is a name that most Iowan’s are familiar with, if only because it is on the caps of half the farmers you know.

They are in the business of making money from agriculture. To do that they need innovations and the latest technology.

Corporations benefit from university research all the time. We are the brain trust in this country. University’s take different approaches based on different philosophies.

Right now, Iowa State is all about biotechnology. Guess what? So are corporations that make money from agriculture.

We have extension offices all over this state that more or less tell the people of Iowa what this university wants them to know about the latest farming techniques.

It is a short hop, skip and jump from Iowa State being in bed with Kerr-McGee to Farmer John being all down with planting the latest in genetically engineered seeds from the same company and don’t think it isn’t.

Dr. Jischke gets $45,000 a year from Banker’s Trust and Kerr-McGee. That is a hefty sum for a couple of part-time jobs. The average Iowan doesn’t make that much working full time in a position that doesn’t impact the future of everyone in Iowa.

This whole situation gets back to accountability. Who watches the watchmen? It shouldn’t be up to fringe elements to bring this to light — it should be the concern of everyone in Iowa.

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Greg Jerrett is a graduate student in English from Council Bluffs. He is opinion editor of the Daily