Westerman Promises Law, Order At AAHS

Students responsible for the incidents which forced the closing of Ann Arbor High School shortly before noon yesterday will probably be suspended for the rest of the year and may be expelled, Supt. W. Scott Westerman Jr. said last night. "Those responsible will not be in school Monday" when classes resume, he said. "Law and order will be maintained." When violence is seen "we will quell it. We will exercise full authority including use of pólice if necessary to maintain an environment which is lawful." School administrators and Ann Arbor pólice ordered the school closed after fights broke out around 11 a.m. yesterday, one in a classroom and the other in a girls' restroom. "If necessary in 'order to give us the sense of security we need (at the high school) I will request pólice supervisión in the school building Monday and for the remainder of the school year," he said. Westerman spoke before the School Board's meeting last night in Tappan Junior High School's auditorium. While stressing that law and order will be maintained, Westerman said the administration will address the grievances of the students with "real vigor." Before the school board meeting, the board met in executive session with representatives of the faculty and administration at the high school. Both the administration and pólice are pressing investigations of the incident? Kesults of the pólice investigarla will be turnee! over to lliHy attorney's office where .Bants will he issup.ri if facts sffSWt sueh action, Pólice Chief Walter Krasny said yesterday afternoon. Krasny and School Board President Hazen J. Schumacher Jr. praised the administration and faculty for their handling of the incidents. Schumacher said "the board is unanimously beïind the superintendent, high school administration and faculty in their handling of the situation which has occurred in the ast five days. We are confident they will take the proper steps so that additional incidents . . . do not occur." Krasny said "firm and quick action by the faculty" prevented the incidents from growing. He also praised students for the orderly way they evacuated the )uilding when classes were dismissed. Krasny's report of the incidents at the school and a report ssued by the school's faculty after an afternoon meeting yes;erday closely agree. Krasny said his department was informed of the scuffles about 11 a.m. by a telephone cali from the school. After conferring with Ann Aror High Principal Nicholas Schreiber, Westerman and Schumacher by telephone, C r a s n y and Sgt. Kenneth Klinge, pólice director of community relations, hurried to he high school. "It was the consensus of the administration and pólice oficiáis present that there was no alternative but to close the school," Krasny said. He said here was a fear f urther trouble might develop during the noon ïour. Krasny said that after the announcement cancelling classes was made about 12:15 p.m., the milding was almost completely empty in 10 minutes. "The students are to be commended for the orderly way they evacuated the building," he said. No problems developed o u t s i d e the school when pupils were dismissed, he said. At the height of the disturb'ance, there were about five police officers inside the building i n c 1 u d i n g Sgt. Klinge, Sgt. Chester E. Carter, who is stationed there, and Krasny the Chief said. Several squad cars were patrolling outside, he said, in case trouble developed. Krasny gave this account oí the two scuffles which brought about the school's closing: Shortly before 11 a.m. a Negro girl walked into a class in session in a portable unit at the school and pointed out three or four youths sitting in the room. A group of about 20 Negroes who had been outside the door then entered the room, shoved past the instructor and started fighting with the student s, Krasny said. The faculty group said the girl pointed out the three students for the group outside, saying, "him, him and him." The class in which the scuffle took place was a mathematics class taught by Frank Kline. The fight lasted only a few m o m e n t s before the group broke up and went back outside the door, Krasny said. One white youth was reportedly punched in the nose and another knocked from his seat during the scuffle, he said. The instructor was not harmed during the fight, the chief said, only ignored. Rumors spread quickly after the fight, Krasny reported. Within minutes the halls were a mass of confussion with groups of white students, totaling perhaps 200, leaving their classes. In all, some 400 students jammed the halls, shouting, screaming and rushing back and forth, Krasny said. Tensión mounted as rumors of other fights spread and the racket was so intense teachers' pleas for order could not be heard, he reported. About this time another instructor was told a white girl was being beaten in a girl's restroom. When he approached the restroom he heard screams and rushed in where he saw a white girl being beaten by a Negro girl. The instructor broke up the fight and took the girl for first aid. The faculty group said several Negro girls were beating the. other girl. Krasny said that during the few minutes the incidents lasted, large groups of white students were trying to force their way into the auditorium to meet 'with an unidenüfied leader. He said the groups dispersed when the announcement of the school's closing was made. Krasny said information he las so far indicates four students required medical attention with one being taken to a local hospital for examination. None of the injuries was serious, he said. The pólice and school administration are aware of what probably caused the first incident, Krasny said, declining to make it public until the investigation of the matter is completed. He did say, however, that it apparently involved a personal dispute between some of the students. Faculty members said the first incident stemmed from a white boy reportedly insulting a Negro girl Tuesday during school. The high school's Negroes met from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m. with Dr. Albert H. Wheeler, president of the state conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Wheeler told The News that a "frank discussion on gut issues of black rights and black responsibilities" took place in the auditorium. ". . , With only one or two exceptions, our exchanges were mature, reasonable and affirmative," he said. Wheeler gave his account of yesterday's incidents: "There was neither a race riot nor mass violence at the high school ... A couple of minor incidents occurred and this was followed by mass confusión which was controlled by school personnel and students. "Similar incidents have occurred on other days in the past and may occur in the future, but because of the events of the past four days, they altracted more attention than usual ..." Wheeler said he did not know what caused the fights, but said he believed most of the students were merely confused. ". . . Few youngsters had any idea of what was going on. A crowd would gather and other Istudents would run wildly toIward the crowd to see what was happening. "This escalation of numbers gave the appearance of a serious disorder," "Wheeler continued. "But most of the kids, black and white, were not hostile but simply excited and confused." School administrators stressed that school will definitely be held Monday, when final examinations for seniors start. The school's faculty is expected to report at 8:15 a.m. Friday when a discussion of the incidents will be held. Schreiber said he "is still hopeful things will go smoothly next week." Last night's 7:30 school board meeting was moved to the auditorium to accommodate the more than 500 persons who attended. Some in the emotional audience strongly supported the school board's position and administration handling of the situation. Others raised some angry questions about the incidents. Rumors of another school disturbance - this one at Slauson Junior High School - brought pólice to that area early yesterday afternoon, but the rumors "were completely unfounded," according to pólice Capt. Harold Olson, who was in charge of the station while Krasny was at the high school. Capt. Olson said rumors apparently resulted from the incidents at the high school but that there was nothing to them.l He said pólice were dispatchedl to several other places in town during the day on the basis of similar unfounded rumors.