Boston School Reopens After Racial Violence

SCHOOL opened peacefully at South Boston High School yesterday, following a weekend of negotiations and neighborhood meetings over a violent racial incident at the school Thursday.

Surrounded by television cameras, police officers, and city officials, seniors entered the main entrance to the hilltop brick edifice without incident. School buses, led by police motorcade, carried no more than a handful of students to school. Several arrived empty.

Ed Long, a white senior walking to school at about 8:00 a.m., said Thursday's melee - in which more than 200 white and black youths yelled racial epithets and threw rocks and bottles at one another - shows that the school needs tighter security. But he and other students said they resented the heavy police and media presence here. "Today it's going to be all cops. I don't like it," he said.

Many students said they didn't foresee any more trouble. Most, however, would not talk to the press.

One black girl blamed the media for Thursday's conflict. "Everything will work out fine. Hopefully, I'll be out of here in June," she said.

Earlier in the morning, Boston police Commissioner Francis Roache told reporters: "This is an issue of getting to school today and leaving safely. Because of recent events, I don't want the children intimidated or frightened."