To the Class of '84

Dear Class of '84:

You'll forgive me if I don't remember very many of you individually or those I do, very clearly. It's been a while!
That said, your class embodies one of the favourite memories of my teaching career.
Here's why:
I arrived at Robron, after 10 years at Carihi, when you were in Grade 11 and the school was still undergoing some construction. I applied to come, largely because of Kieran O'Neill and Jim Beck, the Principal and Vice-Principal, in spite of the prevailing teacher gossip that Robron was an under-resourced construction disaster.
I still consider them among the best I ever worked with in my 35-year career.
Anyway, back to why you became one of my favourite graduating classes ever:
Some of you may remember the spate of racist incidents in the Rockland area in the late '70s. Those attitudes were in evidence at Robron as well, and the staff decided to tackle any racism that existed head-on. Obviously, the success of the program depended on your class, the school leaders, taking on the message that racism was unacceptable and would not be tolerated at Robron.
Which is what you did; your class was the first in Campbell River to feature students of East-Indian descent among its leaders in both sports and academics.
The consequence of the direction set by your class was that by the time my own children graduated from Robron in the '90s, racism was no longer either socially acceptable at Robron or a significant issue.
Perhaps even more importantly, your teachers applied the lessons we learned from you at Robron in other schools and in other districts.
Which makes your class kind of famous, indirectly!

Have a great reunion!
Justus Havelaar