Honor Society Students Boycott Induction

ERMA — In a world plagued with war and tough economic times, a disagreement about who should be allowed to join the National Honor Society (NHS) at a high school may seem trivial but then again you may not be 16 years old.
At an age where emotions run strong, unfairness may not be acceptable especially when you hold high ideals for yourself and others.
Reporters from three local newspapers received phone calls April 11 inviting them to Lower Cape May Regional High School to meet with the majority of the school’s 64 National Honor Society (NHS) members who were boycotting an induction ceremony for three new members taking place at that hour in another room in the school.
The NHS members, all of whom asked to remain anonymous, told reporters the three students being admitted to NHS had taken only two of three college-bound math courses required for membership.
Regional High School Principal Joseph Castellucci told the Herald an error had been made by scheduling the three students in Pre-Algebra in their freshmen year and calling it a college-bound course when it was not. He said that has now been corrected and the three students seeking NHS membership were not at fault.
The NHS members said they wanted to speak with members of the school board but were asked not to come to the previous board meeting since it was a public hearing for the school’s district’s annual budget.
“Perhaps the outcome would have been different because our opinions could have been heard,” said a student.
The day before the induction, four members of NHS met with three school board members, President Richard Hooyman, members Helen Wallace and William Nelson to express their displeasure of the “unqualified” potential new members.
According to the NHS members, school board members said they were not aware an induction of new members had been scheduled for the next day. While board members acknowledged the students had valid points on the issue, they said were not willing to halt the induction, according to the students.
To further complicate the issue, NHS revised its by-laws this year, which would make the students eligible for membership in the next school year. The three students in question could take Algebra II in their senior year thus meeting the math requirement for admission into NHS.
The NHS members said the school board members felt inducting the three students this year would help fix the error made by the school.
NHS members complained admitting the three students lowered the integrity of NHS by violating their by-laws. They asked the school board to postpone the induction until November when the new students would be “legitimate.”
The three students were denied admission into NHS last fall by a faculty committee and following an appeal, said the NHS members. They said Castellucci upheld the faculty committee’s decision but the potential inductees then appealed to Superintendent Jack Pfizemeyer who did not uphold the faculty committee’s decision.
A NHS member said they have worked very hard to become members of NHS and they felt the rule bending had taken away from their hard work and effort. The three new members would not be ostracized, said NHS members.
Castellucci said admitting the students at this time “fell within the spirit of the standards,” since the three students would meet all requirements by fall.
He said the three students were prepared for induction and the school did not wish “ to pull the rug out from under them. Castelluci said it was not fair for the students to be a victim of a hole in the policy.
“Sometimes the system is not fair,” he said.