Wellesley High School - Wellesleyan Yearbook (Wellesley, MA)

Page 14 text:

The Busing Crisis Erupted in Boston Anti-busing protestors converged on the Boston Sheraton. It (busing) was the most unpleasant, disappointing, toughest period of my political life, however short that is. There are few heroes. It left scars on me. Mayor Kevin White. Sparked by the federal court order of a Wellesley resident, Judge Aurthur Garrity, the struggle of black people to achieve inte¬ grated education exploded into violence, dur¬ ing the fall of 1974, in the Boston school sys¬ tem. On opening day, buses transporting black students were stoned by belligerent crowds of white parents in South Boston. Incident after incident fanned the flames of racial hatred. Altercations between black and white students erupted in the newly inte¬ grated institutions. Schools were boycotted. Crowds clashed with police. The national guard was placed on alert. Organized protest groups and political opportunists aggravated the discontent and division of the communi¬ ties. Coverage in the national news media reached epidemic proportions; from the front page NEW YORK TIMES to the lead story on the NBC ' nightly news, the unleashed emotions of South Boston parents and stu¬ dents were broadcast. Above all, the principal victims of the turmoil, the students, were neglected. In contrast, Wellesley existed in relative calm. The Mctco and ABC ' programs success¬ fully enabled underprivileged minority stu¬ dents to receive a suburban school education. Traditional activities and rigorous academic standards were maintained. However, internal conflict over the accreditation dispute dis¬ rupted the community’s quiescence. The future for Wellesley, as for Boston, was shrouded in ominous ambiguity. 10 National guardsmen prepared to embark.

Page 13 text:

Akua Gore, Chris Stokes, and Gretchen Jones discuss writing techniques in Mrs. Barrett’s Let’s Write course. Amanda McCoy perused her history text. The crew studied in the crowded library. Across the country, growing numbers of parents also turned away from innovations such as the Open Classroom approach, in which students are given a maximum of indi¬ vidual freedom and a minimum of teacher supervision. Tests, grades and discipline were directed towards basics, standards of behavior, and generally traditional education. The nationwide sentiment was that several of the reforms spurred by experimentation in educa¬ tion are constructive, such as individualized teaching, but in the process, there should be a balance between innovation and tradition. Maureen Courville was doing what Stephen Grogarty should have been doing Sue Thompson seemed to enjoy her research. 9

Page 15 text:

Children disembarked under the watchful eye of Boston police. Sentinels stood in silent readiness for possible violence. Wellesley Resident, Judge Aurthur Garrity, set in motion the wheels of change. 11