THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 17, 1995 TAG: 9506170329
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
One member of Lake Taylor High's Class of '95 will be conspicuously absent from graduation Monday.
In what some senior class members consider the ultimate snub, valedictorian Tai S. Son is refusing to participate in the ceremony. Chagrined school officials say that's probably unprecedented.
Students and teachers are upset that they'll be deprived of the traditional valedictorian's speech.
But for Son, the decision to skip graduation is his statement to the senior class.
``I don't like what they represent,'' said Son, 18, who leaves high school with a 4.06 grade-point average, an A-plus. ``I feel really out of touch with them.''
Son, who transferred to Lake Taylor from suburban Virginia Beach's Cox High during his junior year, said he thinks most students at the urban Norfolk school are ``unruly and undisciplined'' and uninterested in learning.
``They're not really thinking about their future, which is really bad,'' said Son, who plans to attend Old Dominion University but has not settled on a major. ``Many of them think fighting is the only way. I don't want to represent or speak to a group of people who act that way.''
Except for his advanced placement teachers, Son also said the teaching staff was less than stellar.
``Some teachers worry more about their sports teams than their classes,'' Son said. ``Students don't seem motivated and it rubs off on teachers. Sometimes they really seem uninterested in teaching class.''
His decision to shun the ceremony has angered some of his classmates, but mostly they feel hurt.
``I really don't think it's right for him not to participate, because he'searned the honor and by not coming it's sort of like insulting the school,'' said Amanda Sontag, who is ranked No. 3 in the senior class.
``It's his choice,'' said senior class president Jonathan Beales, ``but I personally feel he owes it to the class to show up. There are those of us who are here to learn, and I think it's those of us who are serious about our education that he should be there for.''
Salutatorian Clifton Holtzclaw, who got bumped to No. 2 when Son transferred, said some students think Son should be dropped from the top spot.
``I was upset when he first came in because I worked my hardest at Lake Taylor to stay No. 1 in the rankings, and I felt knocked down by a newcomer. But I'm not one to hold grudges,'' said Holtzclaw, who has a 3.9 grade point average. ``A lot of seniors disagree with what he's doing. He came to this school but has nothing to do with it. It really puts all of us down.''
Holtzclaw said this episode is the latest to darken his senior year: He said the prom was a disaster, there was no senior trip and homecoming was marred by a brawl in the stands.
Son said the fight at the homecoming football game last fall set the tone for the remainder of the year. School officials blamed it on neighborhood tensions that made their way into the school.
``We have some neighborhood feuds that go on and we tend to be arbitrators for that,'' said assistant Principal Louise Peele, who is in charge of graduation this year. ``Probably 90 to 95 percent of our kids are average, typical teenagers. You spend 99 percent of your time on the 1 percent who aren't interested in education.''
Son said there was a vast difference in the atmosphere at Cox and at Lake Taylor, which he thinks results in part from economic disparity. School records show that nearly half of Lake Taylor's students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, while less than 10 percent of the student body at Cox does.
While education research shows that parental involvement is a key factor in a child's academic performance, research also shows that children from low-income families are most at risk of failure.
``Basically, it's an attitude difference,'' Son said. ``There's more people (at Cox) interested in learning.''
Lake Taylor teachers and administrators said they regret Son's decision and have tried to change his mind. But they disagreed with his assessment of the school.
``We do not serve the elite in any sense of the word, but I love this school,'' said Cathy Williams, an advanced placement English teacher who has put in 27 years at Lake Taylor. ``I would not want to go to any other school. The kids are good, the faculty is good. I think we have a lot to offer.'' by CNB