LSJ

"Operating at its current location for several more years" is what Peter Spadafore, Lansing School Board president, says about Eastern High School's future — the subtle implication being after these years.

Spadafore has preconceptions. The idea Eastern has a designated lifespan is unsupported, as he says cost/benefit analysis is still being considered. Renovation is usually cheaper and cleaner than demolition. Essentially, we have lost the will to fix anything: our buildings, finances or our outlook. I admire Spadafore's determination to prevent sentimentality from trumping what is best for the students, but it seems success and sentimentality are not mutually exclusive, and are being thought of as if they are.

This is my last year at Eastern. It's been long enough, and yet far too short a span. I've been irrevocably changed for the better, between endless lockers and above linoleum floors. I've rejoiced and suffered, and grown as a student and more importantly as a human being. The thought of future generations being denied this pivotal period of growth due to thoughtlessness or stubbornness pains every Quaker.

Samuel Klahn

Lansing