July 27, 1967
Page 20451
A CHANCE TO SUCCEED
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I invite the attention of the Senate to an article describing the Upward Bound program at Gorham State College, written by Kimberly Clifford, and published in the July 16 issue of the Portland, Maine, Sunday Telegram.
At this time, when much criticism is being directed toward the Office of Economic Opportunity and its programs, I believe that Senators will be keenly interested in knowing of this remarkable and innovative program. Upward Bound is directed toward those underachieving high school students from low-income families. At Gorham State College, they spend a 6-week session aimed at encouraging and preparing them for higher education. The purpose of the program is to convince students of their ability to succeed.
I commend the article to all who are interested in this program, which lends a helping hand to the vast pool of potential talent which has in the past been largely ignored.
I ask unanimous consent that the article be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows
(By Kimberly Clifford)
GORHAM.– Upward Bound has lent me a new incentive toward my education. I am sure now of a desire to go on to college, whereas before I was not. Upward Bound has defined the possibilities of my future. I have found the confidence I lacked."
These are the words of Wayne Butler, a Senior at Bonny Eagle High School who participated in Gorham State College's first Upward Bound program last summer.
UB is in full swing here again and the atmosphere at the college sparks with enthusiasm.
What is Upward Bound? How does it create educational incentive and make a young person confident in himself?
Upward Bound, part of the War on Poverty, is a six-week session of study and guidance for high school students from low income families.
They are young people who are "potentially capable of doing educational work beyond high school," says UB associate director Norman Lapointe.
This year the federal Office of Economic Opportunity granted Gorham State, one of 315 UB sites around the country, $77,035 to continue its program.
UB has been called the "war on talent waste." It is offering to hundreds of teenagers that precious opportunity to succeed.
At GSC, 51 high school students from southern Maine are placed in a college environment. Here they learn about themselves.
OEO Director Sargent Shriver says all that UB youngsters need is "guidance, encouragement and money.
"They've got the brains, and the motivation, once they realize they have the chance," he says.
At GSC, happiness is discovering this chance.
The students may choose from several academic areas: humanities (theater arts expression), communications (English), mathematics, science (ecological biology) urban-rural studies, sociology, music appreciation and creative art.
Off-campus projects spur a variety of interests. July includes a sailing lesson, an abstract nature forms exhibit, an exchange weekend with Rhode Island's UB program, the theater, a trip to the Newport, R.I., folk festival, a Red Sox baseball game, a piano concert. In June, classes attended a legislative meeting in Augusta.
"All activities are academically connected and interrelated," says art teacher Carol Tranquillo.
This year's UB program places much more emphasis than last year's on academics so students can become better acclimated to study if they go on to college, says Lapointe.
How do students feel about the extra workload? Says Barbara Adams of Portland: "It's more of a responsibility. We welcome it. It's being on your own."
There are no grades but instructors must report in writing to Lapointe on each student's enthusiasm and motivation.
Several college-age counselor-tutors live it two dormitories with the students and offer academic help, personal counseling and friendship.
"Tutors set the tone," says tutor Hank Giroux, 23, of Providence, R.I.
They attend classes with the other students. Tutors also offer help to UB students in high schools in the winter. And they acquaint youngsters with UB Who are not familiar with it.
Some UB students have formed school clubs to back the program and to encourage others in similar situations to apply.
Discussion groups and team sports are spontaneous and frequent. At 6 each morning anyone who is interested may join in the 30-minute jog around the science building and down to Gorham center.
The students receive $10 a week for spending money. During the winter if they continue to stay in school they receive $5 a week.
UB offers extracurricular activities. Students may take guitar or piano lessons, work on their newspaper, "Leaps and Bounds," or join the summer reading program. UB also has a small library on campus.
UB living is community living. The students recently held a vigorous election for student government officers. The government is a liaison between students and staff. Complaints may be reported by way of government representatives and problems may be discussed.
Student government may also decide punishment in disciplinary action. However, says an instructor, discipline is not a problem here. "They are here because they're interested."
In high school, says Giroux, the students felt they didn't belong. Now they do and it is "great," agree Miss Adams and Dennis Driscoll, a second-year UB student from York.
An outsider's reaction to UB is recognition of the oneness of the Upward Bounders. One sees and hears youths who are realizing, perhaps for the first time, that their lives have a definite direction, that have talent, that they can go on to college.
Driscoll says when he first arrived at GSC he "wasn't too impressed.... I was homesick but everybody was friendly and nice and you blend right in."
In his second year with UB his favorite course is sociology because it is the study of people. "After all, that's what UB is all about," he says With a Smile.
Lapointe defines the program as the "creation of alternatives." Students are presented with the material; they are not pushed. These are experiences which help them lead a richer and fuller life, he says.
Hopefully, college is the aftermath of UB. Miss Adams sees UB's purpose as being to "encourage most of us to keep studying if we aren't financially set, to make us strive for scholarships."
Last year 80 percent of high school seniors in GSC's UB continued their education. Only 12 per cent dropped out during their freshman year of college.
UB graduate Wayne Butler summarizes what UB means to the many who have profited from it. "All the money in the world couldn't replace the memories of our experiences at Gorham. "