(January 27, 2003) — It seems that every Clark student has asked , “Should I be here?” at least once. Many insist that they had no part in the decision, that their parents forced them to return that signed application. Whatever eventually brought us here—fantasy aside—we are all very much here, now, committed to Clark, and some of us are doing better than others. In fact, some of us are failing six or more classes while the rest of us plod merrily along. A stack of student schedules,¼- inch thick and thoroughly highlighted, lays on junior and senior counselor Linda Doll’s desk with the names of students with six or more Ds and Fs to their name. So when are we able to answer that elusive question? When there’s little more than a week left of the first semester and you don’t have anywhere near enough credits to graduate. As a student you don’t stand a chance at Clark—and this is not to say that our school is in any way advanced or accelerated. Clark just wasn’t designed to cater to a broad range of students. We don’t offer remedial classes like Hoover, Glendale or C.V; we’re not Daily. There comes a time when grades are the best argument in favor of going back to your home school. If you don’t like it here, and you can’t get by, what’s stopping you from going back? Every year there’s an applicant pool of at least 500 students interested in Clark and only half that number are accepted to fill the freshman class. It’s a shame that students who actually want to go to Clark are being barred from entrance when others, anxious to get out, are sitting in their seats. Why, then, should the other comprehensive high schools be a place for low- achieving students? Is Clark such an elitist institution? It’s not so much that Clark is elite. But our size limits our ability to offer courses for everyone. Every year Glendale High draws up a list of remedial classes to be offered over the summer, based on students’ graduation needs. Students who have agreed to come to Clark have agreed to live without this spoonfeeding. If the system here doesn’t work for you maybe their’s will.