He went to Smith's apartment and found the president there with a few of his friends. Smith said the rumors were true, and Abbott published his article in the Daily in April 1967. Soon afterwards, state narcotics agents began arriving at ISU to investigate. In the midst of it all, Smith had to defend himself at a GSB meeting. Curtiss Auditorium was completely packed.
People spread out into the hallways and around the rotunda.
They removed the grillwork from the heating ducts and crawled in to look down. Nevertheless, Smith resigned his position and left Iowa State a few weeks after the meeting. The reasons behind his departure were never made public, but Abbott said there were many theories. I decided it wasn't worth it to keep a position that had no power, so I just quit. He graduated from ISU in 1968 with a degree in mechanical engineering, and obtained a history Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 1978.