Membership and Organization

BACKGROUND INFORMATION   (July 1998)
     Well, to start with, Lincoln High School has had hundreds of students graduate each year, and possibly hundreds more who have attended but have moved on to other schools or have not graduated at all. What we are trying to do now as the current alumni activists is to bring some life back to an organization that has been left to sleep while the world moves on.

     From attending the school myself, and it was a long time ago, I have to say that we did about as well as we could. We did not have the best support and did not have the best facilities provided by the school district that other schools had.  From my time at college, I learned that all high schools were definitely not operated in the same fashion.  While I was at college as a freshman, the very memorable East L.A. Walkouts took place, with lots of publicity and discussions on the quality of education.

    That was 30 years ago, and some things improved, and some proposals were implemented.  So what has happened overall since then? There still are lots of drop outs, there still are lots of students showing low performance in tests, and there is still a problem with just getting students immersed the BASIC ELEMENTS of education.

     On the bright side, there are more graduates going on to take courses at institutions of higher learning, be they universities, community colleges, trade schools, or various specialized training sources.  Lincoln has produced graduates who have gone on to positions in government and industry. There are Lincoln alumni in the entertainment field, in law, law enforcement and in medicine, industry and commerce.  Some have even gone into the teaching environment, returning to impart some of their personal efforts into the education process.
    Any omission of other groups is not to discredit the rest; there have been countless others who have gone on to raise families, to hold jobs in the military, in government, and in private industry, and their efforts have helped make things in this society work.

ACTION FOR THE PRESENT TIME
    The Alumni Association wants to get some of this positive energy and talent to help the alma mater in the task of helping current students of the school in their educational pursuits now and later after they leave Lincoln.  We have a physical facility that has been around for some 85 years this year.  In those 85 years, we have different memories relating to our short stay in the school, and then, it seems that it is over.  Everyone forgets about school, oh, except for the reunions every 5 to 10 years.  And then we forget again. Some don't forget because they have their own children or relatives in the school and they do keep up with the news and what is happening at the time.  Over time, there has been a tremendous loss in the level of pride in the school that was held by me and my classmates, compared to today's students.

    I don't know when this breakdown began, but it winds up hurting the students in obtaining their education.  Students should have some pride in their school if they are going to be expected to perform well, and if they are going to act in a positive manner.
    In the wider view, Lincoln has received practically nothing in terms of new buildings and equipment over the years. The earthquakes were responsible for some of the rebuilding.

    Our neighbor, Wilson High, because of the efforts with the School Board on its behalf by Dr. Neuman (who had a daughter attending that school while I was at Lincoln)  got the lion's share of attention and benefits when it came to tangible improvements.  In the '60's, Dr. Neuman was a man very influential in getting lots of attention for Wilson's benefit.  A new campus with facilities that were to be "shared" with Lincoln, like the lighted field, for example.   I don't think that even happened, but that is how some of the large expenses were justified... they would benefit a BROADER group than just the local residents.  Lincoln has to catch up and get some attention to make up for the neglect of years.  We are getting something tangible, and usable in the repair of the football field bleachers.  And that was after years of need.  There are only a handful of high schools in all the LAUSD which do not have lights on the football field. .... Let's see how long it will take to get to Lincoln's turn- and staying quiet will only help us get ignored longer.   Students, teachers, administrators, parents and the community of Lincoln Heights, AND the ALUMNI  of this school (of which there are thousands still living)  have to make their voices heard.

THE CURRENT STUDENT BODY AT LINCOLN
     Our students need to have a level of pride instilled in what they are and what they can do. They need to know that it is something of value to excel in academic or sports, or both, and that they should be able to get some recognition for their efforts.

     The very special achievement of Senior status, being a 12th grader, should be recognized for something. In our high school years, there was a new Senior Class created every Semester. We had Class Sweaters to show our colors, and at that time, I do believe there was some competitive spirit between the two senior classes at any given time. Our senior class status was shown by our colors, our sweaters, and our class rings, to name a few.
     The school yearbook featured Seniors very prominently. NOW, there is hardly any activity in yearbook sales, from what information I get from students and others. "Too expensive" and "What For?" is what I hear when I asked some students about yearbooks. Please. Ignoring tradition and holding no pride in such simple things just hurts the education process, and leaves a gap in the character that school helps build.

    A missing factor often is Motivation.  Another factor is having the means to explore new areas and learn about more than is offered now in school, both from a purely educational point of view, and from a career or occupational goal.
 

HOW CAN THAT BE CHANGED?   ALUMNI INVOLVEMENT.
     We each have some experiences and knowledge that can help others; we have the ability to envision ourselves back into the spot in high school that these kids are in now, and from that viewpoint, figure how best they can be reached, in ways that can capture their interest.  We have occupational and educational experiences that may provide help for kids who don't have family members as a source of knowledge in the areas.  Is this important?  My experience shows me that it is very helpful to have these opportunities.

      When I was in law school, lots of the classmates grew up with family members being lawyers.  These were my law school classmates, remember, not me.  They worked with their family in the business, talked about it at home and had an idea of what they wanted to do very early on.  We outsiders, on the other hand, generally being the minority group students-  latinos (Please, let's reserve the use of that word, "Hispanics," for the governmental and pride-less audience that created the word) and blacks, were just getting used to the concepts presented in the law books we studied in our first year of law school.  Lots of change was the outcome, if we wanted to stay for the next semester.  From that kind of example, we all should have been able to see that our children would have had the benefit of our experiences to overcome some of the problems of being outsiders to some group, the law institution in my case.

     This still is not happening as often as it would seem it should, since there are lots more latino and black lawyers now, as well as women lawyers and Asian lawyers.  This is probably the case with other professions for different and for similar reasons. Some people just don't want to be lawyers or doctors, even though they are familiar with what is needed, but they would do well in some other career.  The tough part is getting the exposure and experience to save on lost time looking for the work they want.  In the group that is our alumni, we have a wealth of information, skill, talent, energy and potential that has not seriously been invited in any coordinated fashion to meet some of the challenges that are present.

    We can bring things of benefit to the students, and to the faculty.  We have the potential for being a force to influence decisions on how Lincoln issues will be handled by the School Board, and other entities. We should recognize that and work for the betterment of what we have, and at the same time, enjoy our participation in these efforts.

Robert Guevara, Cl. of Summer '67          email:   rguevara@earthlink.net

Copyright © 1998, 2001 RGuevara