A flagpole ceremony

By George Roeper

Original Publication Date: June 6, 1969

In June 1969, the year of the school’s first senior class graduation, the school put up its first flagpole. The American flag that was raised was one that had flown over the US Capitol and had been given to the school by Sen. Philip Hart, a longtime friend of the school who had spoken at the dedication of the Middle Building in 1960. Parents and students had requested the flagpole and raised the funds for it. George, wary of unthinking nationalism after his experience in Nazi Germany, acquiesced to the community’s desire but expressed his ambivalence and hopes in his dedication speech.