Page Eight THE MICHIGAN DAILY Tuesday, August 27, 1968 Page Eight THE MICHIGAN DAILY - - - - --______________ -I BLACKS MAKE DEMANDS: WE LCOME STUDENT %JIBer, %7J0! S e vie IAW Racial. By JOEL BLOCK Black students at Ann Arbc High School won a partial victo this summer in their fight again alleged racism at the school. Fourteen of 21 demands pr sented by the school's 125 blac students on May 27 were approvi by a joint black student-facul committee and passed by t] Board of Education. This action followed two wee: of student unrest at the hig school which included a boyco of classes by black students, figh between black and white studeni the imposition of "partial marti law" by school authorities, and week-long protest by pickets fro the University community. Racial tension between th school's 125 black students an its primarily white administratio and staff revealed itself in la May when a curriculum question naire was distributed to black sti dents by the administration. The survey was conducted response to charges that the hig school was forcing blacks into ti "general currciulum" rather tha the study program for colleg bound students. The controversial questionnair prompted black students to for an ad hoc organization to dra demands forzreforms in the hig: school. The group was set u. within the structure of the yout: council of the NAACP and con tained nearly every black studen in the school. The black students boycotte their classes on May 24 to fore administrators to meet with the. throughout the day to discus grievances. To avert another threatene, boycott on May 27, the school' administration agreed to hold "tell off" where all students cou: voice grievances against the schoc staff. On that day, all classes wer called off and voluntary meetini tension comes to AA high All parts of community involved were held between faculty and in- terested students. t At those meetings, black stu- dents listed 21 demands, including the dismissal of faculty members found guilty of bigotry, the pro- hibition of police officers from as- signment to the campus, a well defined grievance procedure for students, and a number of other. major reforms., , Later that day the school's fac- ulty appointed a committee to study the black student demands and recommend to the entire fac- ulty body a course of action. Two days later, May 29, sever- al fights broke out between blacks and whites in classrooms and washrooms resulting in the brief hospitalization of one student. School Superintendent W. Scott Westerman called off classes for the remainder of the week and , I f U the faculty adopted 14 of the black demands with a few modifications. The school administration also enacted a new discipline policy of "partial martial law" for the rest of the school year. Starting June 3, around 25 plainclothesed and uniformed police officers patrolled' inside and outside the high school building. Students were told they would be immediately suspended for breaking any of the school rules against tardiness, passing out un- authorized, literature, or holding any kind of unauthorized demon- stration. Pickets from the University' community protested the partial martial law during the school week of June 3. Members of Voice- SDS, Citizens for New Politics, The Bill Ayers for School Board Committee, and People Against Racism picketed and ,passed out leaflets at the school's main en- trance every morning as students entered the building. Superintendent W e s t e r m a n threatened to file an injunction to prevent the picketing but didn't do so when advised by School Board attorney Roscoe Bonisteel of the legal complexities of such a move. The protesters caused no in- cident as the High school students filed past them into the building. Two students were suspended for passing out anti-draft literature inside the school but were both later reinstated. At a meeting held June 12, the School Board passed the 14 black student demands recommended by the school's faculty. The seven de- mands not approved by the fac- ulty were referred to a new Bi- Racial Citizens' Advisory Board. The Bi-Racial Advisory Board will work on all race problems at the school. It will be composed of black and white students, school personnel, parents and commun- ity residents. The most radical reform accept- ed by administrators was the elimination of the practice of marking down students' grades because of unexcused absences. New and "more appropriate" dis- ciplinary measures will be de- vised in the fall, according to school officials. Other accepted demands were the establishment of a Martin Luther King award for outstand- ing contributions in civil rights, the establishment of a well de- fined procedure to handle student problems, and the appointment of a Negro Human Relations Director for the school. At a June 12 meeting, two School Board members, William C. Godfrey and Paul H. Johnson, charged that the Board of Edu- cation's policy of recruiting Ne- groes is "illegal" and "discrimina- tory." Their amendment to change the three-year-old School Board pol- icy was defeated by a large ma- jority. In another development, Ann Arbor High School Principal Nich- olas Schreiber, who had been the target of many of the black and white students' accusations of big- otry, retired soon after the close of the school year. Schreiber was the originator of the "partial martial law" policy in the school. 4 (O 500 E. Liberty STUDGNT BOOK SGRVICG LARGEST USED BOOK STOCK IN TOWN OPEN 'TIL MIDNIGHT DURING BOOK RUSH "Where the Virtuous Buy The.r Books" 1. 1215 S. UNIVERSITY 761-0700 Enjoy Yourself - Join the Daily Staff Today! i I 'I F THE WOMEN'S ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION Welcomes You '1. and invites you to join any of the activities listed. , I CLUBS Gymnastics: Tues., Sept. 3, 7 p.m., Barbour Gymnasium Tennis: Tuesday, Sept. 3, 5:10 p.m., Palmer Courts Field Hockey: Wed., Sept. 4, 4:30 p.m., Palmer Field Golf: Thursday, Sept. 5, 5:10 p.m., Women's Athletic Building t Folk Dance: Friday, Sept. 6, 8 p.m., Barbour Gymnasium Concert Dance: Tuesday, Sept. 10 nad Thursday, Sept. 12, 7:15 p.m., Barbour Gymnasium Michifish: Wednesday, Sept. 11, 7 p.m., Margaret Bell Pool Interhouse Volleyball starts week of Sept. 16 at 5:10 or 7:10 in Barbour Gymnasium (team application blanks will be available in room 15 Barbour) Rifle: Thursday, Oct. 24, Building 7:30 p.m., Women's Athletic Judo: starting date not yet posted. Barbour Gynnasium Fencing: starting date not yet posted. Women's Athle- tic Building 4 Lifegttard Corps: Wed Bell Pool Crop and Saddle: Thur Athletic Building ., Sept. 4, 7:15 p.m., Margaret Basketball: January 13, 8 p.m., Barbour Gymnasium rsday, Sept. 5, 7 p.m., Women s Interhouse Basketball: starts week of 7:10 Badminton: Monday, Jan. 13, 7 p.m, slum 27th at 5:10 or Barbour Gymnha- 4 Speed Swimming: T garet Bell Pool uesday, Sept. 24, 7:30 p.m., Mar- C U " %AIC I1 i