Pre-Frosh Sues School Over Rank

Thought you suffered through some tough competition in high school?

The case of Paul Siemens '98, of Chestnut Ridge, NY, might make you think again.

Siemens, 18, is suing his school district because of what he feels is the unfairness of a process that left him ranked second in his class, leaving a classmate with the highest academic rank--and the coveted honor of valedictorian.

Spring Valley High School, from which Siemens graduated last month, names as its valedictorian the student who had the highest grade point average over the first seven semesters of high school.

But there's a catch. At Spring Valley, the seventh semester--the first term of a student's senior year--is counted twice.

And Siemens says a low grade in physics, double-weighted as part of the system, toppled him from the head of his class and denied him the honor he rightly deserves.

Representatives from Siemens' school district, East Ramapo, say the policy is perfectly fair.

"It is applied to all students, and discriminates against no one," said the school district's attorney, Stephen Fromson. "It is a process of longstanding duration and is neither arbitrary nor capricious, as Mr. Siemens has charged."

Fromson also noted that the formula has been in place at Spring Valley High for 30 years.

But this fact did not seem to trouble Siemens' attorney, Barry Kantrowitz. The attorney, Barry Kantrowitz. The attorney compared his client's struggle against unfair entrenched policies to the injustices suffered by Black slaves and disenfranchised women.

"Sure it's gone on for years, but women couldn't vote for years, and Blacks were slaves for centuries," Kantrowitz said yesterday. "Longevity does not make it right."

Indeed, Siemens himself said he is acting primarily on principle.

"I think the most important thing, is that it's not about being number one or number two," Siemens said yesterday. "The fact is that they broke the law by not having an average. There has to be somebody to stand up for the student's rights, and I feel I'm the person to do that."

"What's important to me is not just helping myself, but helping the future of the school district," the future Harvard student added.

But Siemens said he isn't fighting for purely altruistic reasons.

"If I deserve something, why shouldn't I have it on my transcript?" he said.

Siemens also claims that the policy is not only unfair but was not made clear to students.

Kantrowitz cited signed state- ments from seven of the class' top 10 studentsin which the students claim they had no knowledgeof the policy.

"This was completely unbeknownst to virtuallyeveryone," Kantrowitz said in an interviewyesterday.

Siemens has already taken his complaint to theschool committee, which listened to arguments forand against a retroactive change in the policy.The committee voted on the matter in closedsession and tied 4-4.

This indecision, Kantrowitz said, has forcedSiemens to seek redress through the law.

"It was an internal matter, but by not reachinga decision, the Board of Education forced him togo to the courts," the attorney said.

Kantrowitz also said that the district had "nojustification for the process, and no one hasbeen able to articulate a justification for thisabortion of a formula."

Siemens is also confident about his chances incourt.

"You can argue about ideas in English andSocial Studies classes in high school, but when itcomes to math, there's only one answer," Siemenssaid.

Siemens said the issue is not a personal gripehe has with class valedictorian Shari Dickstein.In fact, Siemens and Dickstein have remainedclose, he said.

"She's one of my best friends, and always hasbeen, but I just felt that something has to bedone," Siemens said. "It's not about me and her,it's about me and the school district."

Dickstein could not be reached for commentyesterday.

When asked if he was looking forward to hisfirst year at Harvard, Siemens was quick toanswer:

"Oh, definitely. I can't wait.

"This was completely unbeknownst to virtuallyeveryone," Kantrowitz said in an interviewyesterday.

Siemens has already taken his complaint to theschool committee, which listened to arguments forand against a retroactive change in the policy.The committee voted on the matter in closedsession and tied 4-4.

This indecision, Kantrowitz said, has forcedSiemens to seek redress through the law.

"It was an internal matter, but by not reachinga decision, the Board of Education forced him togo to the courts," the attorney said.

Kantrowitz also said that the district had "nojustification for the process, and no one hasbeen able to articulate a justification for thisabortion of a formula."

Siemens is also confident about his chances incourt.

"You can argue about ideas in English andSocial Studies classes in high school, but when itcomes to math, there's only one answer," Siemenssaid.

Siemens said the issue is not a personal gripehe has with class valedictorian Shari Dickstein.In fact, Siemens and Dickstein have remainedclose, he said.

"She's one of my best friends, and always hasbeen, but I just felt that something has to bedone," Siemens said. "It's not about me and her,it's about me and the school district."

Dickstein could not be reached for commentyesterday.

When asked if he was looking forward to hisfirst year at Harvard, Siemens was quick toanswer:

"Oh, definitely. I can't wait.