It came up in a lunchtime conversation with an old friend, herself a graduate and former teacher at Santa Fe High School. She mentioned Roy Stephenson, memorable from her high school days because he was smart and funny and because he was the valedictorian of Santa Fe High School’s Class of 1967.
I was surprised by this claim – not that Roy Stephenson (who I knew much later from my years in the law profession) wasn’t smart and funny. By all newspaper and yearbook accounts, Roy was popular, smart and funny. He was also literary, publishing poems in the local paper(see The Santa Fe New Mexican, April 23, 1967), and athletic, a star tennis player for the Demons. For the class talent show, Roy was MC at the event under the pseudonym of Jack S. Phogbound and he was known to come to school in costumes, feigning another personality, for the amusement of his classmates. At the annual Sadie Hawkins dance, he won a prize for the “loudest suspenders.” He seems like a fun guy.
But he was not the valedictorian for Santa Fe High School Class of 1967. It was not because he didn’t have a great GPA (he did – 3.93, the second highest GPA that year) nor because a lack of extra-curricular activities (he had plenty – tennis, drama, debate and more) nor because he wasn’t popular among the faculty (he was). For his achievements, Roy was named a ‘speaker’ for commencement. But Roy Stephenson was not the valedictorian because Santa Fe High School did not name a valedictorian or a salutatorian in 1967.
In fact, there had been no valedictorian or salutatorian at Santa Fe High School since 1948, the year that Ralph Getz won the title and delivered the valedictory address. Interestingly, the salutatorian, Thomas Moore, Jr., missed the top by a GPA score that was a thousandth of a point difference less than that of Getz’. Both Ralph Getz and Tom Moore won scholarships to Harvard University.
In 1949, the newspaper report (Santa Fe New Mexican, June 22, 1949) on the commencement exercises for Santa Fe High School, listed awards galore for students – sports, band, academics – but never mentions either a valedictorian/salutatorian or a ‘speaker.’
In 1950, it became clear that the high school had abandoned the traditional valedictorian/salutatorian model in favor of a Top Ten model. I learned this in an article (Santa Fe New Mexican, June 4, 1950) about Mariano “Nano” Sanchez, a 1950 graduate of Santa High School, headed to Georgetown University planning to study astronomy. The article goes on to say:
Nano was one of the ten top students in the 1950 graduating class, a selection which has replaced valedictorian and salutatorian at the local school. (emphasis is mine)
In 1951, this new Top Ten tradtion morphed into a top five per cent and, over the years, a top ten percent and those students were listed in the newspaper as such.
A survey of newspaper accounts of high school graduations for the years 1951 to 1987, displayed a pattern. The local newspaper, in reporting graduations at all area schools, typically identified the valedictorian and salutatorian from each area school – except Santa Fe High School which always named two “speakers.”
These ‘speakers” at Santa Fe High School were chosen in the beginning by faculty; later, contests and try-outs were held among the top students to be a speaker. But the notion of a top GPA leading automatically to a valedictorian title was simply forgotten at Santa Fe High School. In later years, the high school recognized top students (far more than any Top Ten) by appointing them members of the “Royal Blues,” (fyi, the school colors are blue and gold). The “Royal Blues” honored the school’s top students (without any particular ranking) and regularly featured them in the school annuals and occasional newspaper reports.
In 1962, the newspaper reported on Santa Fe High School graduate Dawn Gerber, who gave one of two commencement addresses at the graduation ceremonies. Here’s the pertinent part of the newspaper article which can be found at the Santa Fe New Mexican “Spotlight on Education” feature, published on June 7, 1962
Both she [Dawn] and Rose Marie Garcia, who gave the second commencement address, were chosen by the faculty from the top five per cent academically of their class after speech try-outs. Santa Fe High did away with the traditional system of valedict-orians and salutatorians long before the present administration which does not remember the specific reason for the change.(emphasis is mine)
(Dawn’s own life story is interesting and tragic. At age 5, she nearly drowned in the Santa Fe River – and was rescued by her brother, Dean, who received an award for his heroism. In high school, she was a volunteer at St. Vincent Hospital, part of a group called ‘candy stripers” for the distinctive uniform they wore. In the program for the commencement exercises, Dawn’s achievements were briefly listed but erroneously identified her role at the hospital as a ‘candy stripper.” Probably not so amusing, as she was headed to Southern Methodist University. She was at SMU only a month when she joined a group on a bus trip for a religious retreat. The bus rolled over and the only student killed was Dawn Gerber.)
A survey of past Santa Fe High school annuals (the yearbooks are titled ‘Para Manana’ and they are freely available at Issuu and at the ‘throwback’ page of the Demon Tatler, the school’s newspaper website), reveals that the words valedictorian or salutatorian never appear in the years 1949 and 1987, though the ‘Royal Blues’ were always listed and pictured and, occasionally, a top GPA, would be noted.
In 1966, for example, the top GPA at Santa Fe High School was held by Gilbert Montoya. Gilbert was headed to Stanford after graduation (or maybe NMSU and he was also an alternate appointee to West Point). He wound up as an architect, practicing in Georgia, Tennessee and South Caroline. I knew Gilbert from my Casa Solana neighborhood where my brother Gene and I often played pickup basketball at a nice lady’s house on Caminito Alegre (ironically, precisely across the street from where I now live; in fact, when we grew hot and dusty from playing ball, we would often go to the house across the street – now my house – to cool off under the carport.)
The usual players (besides me and Gene) were brothers Steve and Louis Padilla and brothers Gilbert and David Montoya. We called Gilbert ‘Bugs’ because he was short-tempered and ‘bugged out’ when frustrated. Years later, I met him at a party (by this time, he was a big time architect and I was a mere district judge). “Hey, Bugs!” I greeted him. He did not like it and told me so. So if you ever meet Gilbert Montoya, for God’s sake, don’t call him “Bugs.”
The point is that Gilbert, though apparently fulfilling all the traditional requirements for valedictorian was not even named as one of two commencement speakers at his own graduation. See the Santa Fe New Mexican article in the May 26, 1966 issue, the article entitled “Top Students to Address Commencement Exercises in Northern New Mexico.”
The article states that
Santa Fe High School has for the past several years chosen two seniors from the top five per cent of the class to deliver commencement addresses. (emphasis mine). This year, Linda McLarry and Sheila Riddle will be the speakers at ceremonies beginning at 8 pm May 26 in Sweeney Gym.
As you can see, Gilbert Montoya – Mr. Top GPA and putative valedictorian -- is not mentioned at all.
Now comes Roy Stephenson.
In 1967, the newspaper reported on upcoming graduation exercises, listing and depicting the top students from every local school – Santa Fe High, St. Mike’s, Loretto, Pojoaque, Santa Fe Prep and even the New Mexico School for the Deaf. Every school identified a valedictorian and salutatorian – except Santa Fe High School. Santa Fe High School, instead, named Marsha Long (who had the top GPA) and Roy Stephenson as “class speakers,” while the remainder of the school’s top ten per cent, academically, wore red tassels (instead of the usual gold) on their mortarboards at graduation.
And so it went on for years, the tradition of ‘speakers’ at Santa Fe High School rather than valedictorians or salutatorians, never provoking comment or question.
Here’s an interesting note from the Santa Fe New Mexican in its May 20, 1984 issue. For context, the note was appended to a feature article, entitled ‘The Best and the Brightest,’ a story about the valedictorians and salutatorians from St. Michael’s High School and Santa Fe Preparatory School and their struggles to achieve their high ranks. While the feature article says nothing about Santa Fe High School, the note does:
NO VALEDICTORIANS AT SFHS
By tradition, Santa Fe High School does not name a valedictorian or salutatorian. Instead four student are chosen as speakers for graduation ceremonies. This year, the two speakers from the High School’s main campus are Kimberly Medrano and Amy Schwendi-mann. Patricia Chacon has been selected from the Alternative High Campus. And Celine Martinez will represent Vo-Tech.
To qualify for selection, speakers must have a C average or better.Speakers compete for selection based on a trial speech, their grades and participation in school and community projects. The high school probably doesn’t name a valedictorian or salutatorian because there are so many students with A’s – eight from the main campus alone this year, says Assistant Principal John Sena.(emphasis is mine)
In 1985, 1986 and 1987, Santa Fe High School continued the tradition of ‘speakers,’ while the other schools continued their tradition of valedictorians and salutatorians.
In 1988, however, Santa Fe High School named its first valedictorian and salutatorian in nearly forty years. In the ‘Places and Faces’ column in the Santa Fe New Mexican for May 29, 1988, Mayor of Santa Fe Sam Pick announced the recipients of the Mayor’s “Muchas Gracias” certificates, young people who displayed “outstanding personal, academic and extracurricular achievements.”
Among those listed were “Valedictorian Manuel Rodriguez and Salutatorians Paul Armijo and Daniel Gehred of Santa Fe High School.” Each of these students earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average and each had earned awards in scholarly competitions. In 1988 – and every year thereafter – Santa Fe High School named a valedictorian and salutatorian (and, as you can see, sometimes two salutatorians).
In my research, I was never able to ascertain exactly why Santa Fe High School switched from valedictorian/salutatorian to Top Ten and later, top five per cent, top ten percent and “Royal Blues.” It became the common practice for forty years and, I suspect, most people simply forgot that, for a time, there were no valedictorians at Santa Fe High School.
But I can make a guess as to why Santa Fe High School returned to the valedictorian/salutatorian(s) model in 1988. The brand new Capital High School held it’s first graduation in 1988 – and a valedictorian and salutatorian were named. I think that prompted Santa Fe High School to switch back to the old tradition.
As to Roy Stephenson, I am certain that Roy was all he was cracked up to be – smart, funny and popular in High School. But Roy Stephenson was not the valedictorian for the Santa Fe High School Class of 1967. No one was.
As I write, it is the year 2025 and Santa Fe High School has been naming valedictorians and salutatorians steadily since 1988 – that’s about 37 years. Long enough, I suppose, for people to forget that for a period of 40 years, Santa Fe High School did not have a valedictorian or salutatorian.
No comments:
Post a Comment