To the editor:

With great sadness, I learned that high school principal Joe Clark passed away. Being in the same class as Joe at William Paterson, Class of ’60, was an honor. Principal Joe Clark stopped the drug trade and crime at Eastside HS in Paterson, NJ and expelled many students, once 300 in one day, for fighting and unruly behavior so that Eastside became a model high school for learning and discipline. His students, as a result, performed better and the failure rates dropped greatly with Joe’s challenging students to perform well daily.

Joe’s unorthodox methods of discipline did the trick. He roamed the halls with a baseball bat and bull horn. He made the cover of Time magazine with a baseball bat in hand. Regan offered Joe a job. He inspired a film “Lean on Me,” written about Joe’s bold turn-around at Eastside and the song “Lean on Me” which has become an anthem to Black Lives Matter. I urge you all to experience both the movie and song. Our university should require all its students to see it.

To the students of the University, ask the administration for a plaque honoring Joe and place it prominently on campus with a rally honoring people of color.

Carl Veaux

Class Historian, Class of ’60

William Paterson University

Cape Coral