Memorializing Memorial

Contributing writer W.P. Norton's cover story appraises Madison Memorial High School's Class of 1990. Second only to Madison West for its share of the city's National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, Memorial is diversifying across economic, ethnic and social strata, in ways that appear to feed tensions. For instance, more than 100 Memorial students have been suspended over the previous two years. Principal Carolyn Taylor says these problems have deep roots: "With the advent of the Reagan years, we abandoned the programs that gave people hope. We seem to be headed toward a two-class society: those that have enough, and those that don't." Taylor retires in 1998 and dies in 2002. The Class of 1990 is approaching middle age.