SHREWSBURY HIGH SCHOOL 'LYNCHING'

Drug Charge Doesn't Stick; Racism Allegation Is Stickier

Bob Fouracre is best known for his radio play-by-play of Holy Cross
football and basketball. Now, though, he's crying foul against
Shrewsbury High and what he called its racist reaction to two
minority students who were falsely accused of smoking pot.

But Mr. Fouracre's claims of racism and what he calls the "lynching"
of a black student whose suspension was later rescinded raises the
question of whether we've become too quick to blame race in
situations where less inflammatory explanations may also apply.

"If these kids were white, this never would have happened," said Mr.
Fouracre, who lives in Shrewsbury with a Nigerian woman and her two
children. "These kids were lynched and accused of doing something
they didn't do."

The problem started when Mr. Fouracre got a call March 7 from the
16-year-old son of his live-in friend, who said he was in trouble at
school and accused of smoking marijuana. The boy's mother went to the
school and learned that her son and an Indian student were being
suspended for 10 days for "possession and use of marijuana" after two
teachers reported smelling smoke on the boys, and one of the teachers
believed the odor was pot.

Both boys adamantly denied smoking pot, but acknowledged that they
had left the school building without permission. The next day, Mr.
Fouracre's housemate, who is a nurse, took her son for a drug urine
screen at UMass Memorial Community Medical Group in Shrewsbury. The
boy tested negative for pot as well as for cocaine, opiates and
barbiturates, according to records. The Indian boy's father also had
him tested, with similar results, according to Mr. Fouracre.

Armed with this information, Mr. Fouracre and the boy's mother met
March 12 with Assistant Principal Kenneth Largess, who continued to
maintain that the boys had smoked pot. The couple then showed him the
results of the drug test, and Mr. Fouracre acknowledged that he got
angry and called Mr. Largess a racist. The boy's uncle was also
present at the meeting and accused the school of "trapping a black
boy in a white man's society," Mr. Fouracre said.

The school immediately vacated the boys' suspensions and expunged
their records. Mr. Largess also "mentioned to (the boy) that he was
sorry that the incident occurred" and spoke to him about
"re-establishing the relationship that they had enjoyed previously,"
according to a letter sent later to the boy's mother.

None of this was enough for Mr. Fouracre and the boy's mother, who
maintained that the only reason the boy was exonerated was because
they took the initiative to have him drug tested. Otherwise, he would
have been railroaded with no evidence, they said.

"They thought this was just another minority kid they could stick it
to," said Mr. Fouracre, who claimed that the predominantly white,
suburban school does little to discourage racism among students or
faculty. "The 'N' word is used all the time there. Those kids are
back in school only after we proved their accusers wrong. Just like
Don Imus said he was sorry, only after he got caught."

The couple met March 21 with Anthony J. Bent, superintendent of
schools, and handed him a letter requesting a public apology, a
written apology, and the permanent suspension of Mr. Largess, who
they say violated the boy's civil rights.

Mr. Bent has declined to comply. In a letter to the boy's mother, he
said it was reasonable for Mr. Largess to conclude that the boy had
been smoking pot because a used marijuana cigarette had been found in
the area near the boy, and because he ran from the teacher who
confronted him and was "hesitant" when Mr. Largess asked him to
inhale and exhale.

"I regret that your requests speak so loudly of retribution against a
highly regarded, long term administrator in this district," Mr. Bent
wrote. He also wrote, "During our conversation, you spoke in very
strong terms about the racism at Shrewsbury High. Yes, any high
school is a reflection of the society and the community in which it
is located. Having said that, Shrewsbury High School suffers no more
from prejudice and racism than other schools, and is likely much
better in that area than most."

Mr. Fouracre, who is white, is a well-known sports broadcaster for
radio station WTAG. He said he's discussed the incident with others
and realizes that black and white people view it from different prisms.

"I tell a white person about it and they feel bad," he said. "I tell
a black person and they feel pain. White people just don't get it.
This is about profiling a black student."

This week, Mr. Bent maintained that racism had nothing to do with the
incident. When told of Mr. Fouracre's claims of racial incidents at
Shrewsbury High when the "N" word has been used by students, he
didn't whitewash the issue.

"Is there a perfect place anywhere where there are no hints of racism
or intolerance?" he asked. "These are issues every school deals with.
But it just wasn't the case here."