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I lilt; I'rihnnr\\ . L. WILLI VMS Publisher HILL \\ II LIAMS. Jr. liuxinrss Manager\I Klt; (L KKKIL Elt;lU»i_1L_L LI I 11 Li L g. _ - - ■ ■■■»«■ mm ■■ ■■ 1 ■ n «u«i—■■ lt;■■■ ■ ■■■■■ ■■ ■■■■■■ - mmmwmm • ■ ■ ■■■■ ! ■ ■ ■ ■■ ■ . ~ *8 SUNDAY. APRIL 26. 1970Violence Is Destroying Schools, CommunitiesIt there was any clear point established in the most recent disturbance at Thornton Township high school Friday morning, it was the time-worn message of violence begets violence. For five straight school days, small groups of black students attacked white students in isolated cases of hit-and-run. Friday morning, another small group of white students struck back andchaos resulted.In both cases, the number of students involved in these cowardly■wf:attacks represented only a veryminute fraction of the student bodv.*Vet, these small groups ot blackand white students art* committingsenseless acts of violence thatthreaten to destroy the school and•«the communities it serves.At the present time, the damage caused bv these malcontents has been limited in terms of personal injury or property damage, but the psychological destruction that has resulted in the minds of many parents and students in district 205 is catasrophic. And, it the present “eye for an eye’’philosophy continues, it will only bea question of time before Thornton and possibly even Thornridge high schools become either armed camps or inferior high schools from lt;m educational quality standpoint.No real parent, be he black or white, wants to send his child to a school where physical attacks are a daily threat. No real student wants to attend a school where armed guards are needed to insure his right to an education. No taxpayer wants to see the highest porportion of his real estate taxes go to pay for I lie cost of violence. No teacher wants to work in an environment where education becomes secondary to protection. But, that is what is slowly happening in district 205.Many irate parents, both black and white, have called us to express the urgency of a high-level investigation of the sources of violence at the high school. Many have expressed the opinion that outside agitators are to blame for the problems this year at our high schools and they have based their charges on the fact that disturbances have occurred at other high schools in the south suburbs on the same dav.ft-It is too easy to blame our local%problems on outside influences.The problem that we have witnessed at Thornton have come from within the school itself and the evidence of any outside conspiracy is very weak. It appears to us that tlu* problem centers around one basic premise and that is that thefact that there are a small number of white and black students at Thornton and other schools in this area who would rather create havoc than obtain an education. We believe that it is extremely important that this point be realized by ('very concerned parent, student and teacher.The investigation, if there is to be one, should be made at tlu* local level by the parents themselves who have been urged to visit the schools and act as parental observers. Those who volunteer even onehour to stand in the hallwavs dur-%mg a class break will come away with a new awareness of a very4rcomplex problem.At the same time, the Superintendent's Advisory committee-could perform a very useful service to district 205 by documenting the violence that has occurred so far with police reports, interviews of victims and those charged with the attacks. Such a report should be released to a very anxious public as soon as possible to eliminate rumors and set the record straight.
Newspaper Details
Harvey Tribune
Harvey, Illinois, US
Sun, Apr 26, 1970
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Richard F.
MN, USA 25 Sep 2018
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