Page Eight
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
,GTuesday, August 27, 1968-
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BLACKS MAKE DEMANDS:
Racial tension'
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By JOEL BLOCK
Black students at Ann Arbor
High School won a partial victory
this summer in their fight against
alleged racism at the school.
Fourteen of 21 demands pre-
sented by the school's 125 black
students on May 27 were approved
by a , joint black student-faculty
committee and passed b$ the
Board of Education.
This action followed two weeks
of student unrest at the high
school which included a boycott
of classes by black students, fights
between black and white students,
the imposition of "partial martial
law",by school authorities, and a
week-long protest by pickets from
the University community.
Racial tension between the
school's 125 black students and
its primarily white administration
and staff revealed itself in late
May when a curriculum question-
naire was distributed to black stu-
dents by the administration.
The survey was conducted in
response to charges that the high
school was forcing blacks into the
"general currciulum" rather than
the study program for college
bound students.'
The controversial questionnaire
prompted black students to form
an ad hoc organization to draft
demands for reforms in the high
school. The group was set up
within the structure of the youth
council of the NAACP and con-
tained nearly every black student
in the school.
The black students boycotted
their classes on May 24 to force
administrators to meet with them
throughout the day to discuss
grievances.
To avert another threatened
boycott on May 27, the school's
administration agreed to hold a
"tell off" where all students could
voice grievances against the school
staff. On that day, all classes were
called off and voluntary meetings
were held between faculty and in-
terested students. .
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 proc'edure for
students, and anumber .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.-t,
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
the ;aculty adopted 14 of the black'
demands with a *ewmodifications.
The school. administration alsoj
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
breakin'g 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 chool
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 suspeided 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 reforn 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-e
cation's policy of recruiting Ne-
groes is "illegal" and "discrimina-
tory.
Their amendment to change the
three-yeariold School Board pol-
icy was defeated by a, large ma-
jority.
Ih 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.
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THE WOMEN'S ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
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Welcomes
You
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IA
and invites you to join any of the activities listed.
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CLUBS
Golf: Thursday, Sept. 5, 5:10 p.m.,
Building
Women's Athletic
Rifle: Thursdiay, Oct. 24, 7:30 p.m.,
Building
Women's Athletic
Gymnastics: Tues., Sept. 3, 7 p.m., Barbour Gymnasium
Tennis: Tuesday, Sept. 3, 5:10 p.m., Palmer Courts
Fiel4 Hockey: Wed., Sept. 4, 4:30 p.m., Palmer Field
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
Judo: starting date not yet posted. Barbour Qymnasium
Fencing: starting date riot yet posted. Women's Athle-
tic Building
Michifish: Wednesday, Sept. 11, 7
Pool
p.m., Margaret Bell
Lifeguard Corps: Wed., Sept
Bell Pool
Crop and Saddle: Thursday,
Athletic Building
7:15
p.m., Margaret
Basketball: January
13, 8 p.m., Barbour Gymnasium
Interhouse Volleyball starts week of Septi 16 at 5:10 or
7:10 in Barbour Gymnasium (team application
blanks will be available in room 15 Barbour)
Interhouse Basketball: starts week of
7:10
27th at 5:10 or
Sept. 5, 7 p.m., Women's
Speed Swimming: Tuesday, Sept.
garet Bell Pool
24,
7:30 p.m.,
Mar-
Badminton: Mondcy, Jan. 13, 7 p.m., Barbour Gymna-
sium
SHOWS
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