Reggie Really Disliked His Principal

The things Reggie did in high school to torment his teachers and principal became legendary among his close friends. When Reggie attended class, he could probably best be described as “disruptive.” His declining grades don’t really convey just how difficult a student he had become.

There were a lot of stunts, but a few stand out.

Looking back on Reggie’s high school years, I would have to say that he developed an almost obsessive dislike of his principal, Mr. McNevin.

Mr. McNevin was a nice guy, but he had almost nothing in common with Reggie. He probably hoped Reggie could become a model student—which, at that point in his life, was about the last thing Reggie wanted to be.

Today, we feel badly about what Mr. McNevin had to put up with from him.

Paying his Graduation Fee With $20 in Pennies

One of the more memorable incidents involved Reggie’s graduation fee.

For reasons I have never understood, students had to pay a $20 fee to graduate from the high school and receive their diploma. I assume it was intended to cover printing or other graduation costs.

Reggie, in his infinite deviousness, decided that he would pay the fee in perfectly legal tender—with pennies.

He knocked on the principal’s door, announced that he was there to pay his graduation fee, and proceeded to dump a bag containing rolled and loose pennies onto the principal’s desk.

According to Reggie, Mr. McNevin turned beet red. Reggie could tell that he was furious.

Reggie, of course, thought it was pretty funny.

Terror at the Dance

And then there was the Copperfield incident.

A few times a month, the high school hosted Saturday-night dances featuring local PEI bands. One that appeared regularly was a classic-rock band called Copperfield.

Reggie loved heavy metal and hated the kind of music Copperfield played, so naturally he detested the band.

According to Reggie’s notes, he and a few friends climbed through an open classroom window at the back of the school while a dance was underway. They made their way behind the stage and, from their hidden position, Reggie discharged a fire extinguisher at the band in the middle of a song.

It scared the heck out of the band and the people at the dance.

Reggie and his friends escaped and apparently were never caught.

I only learned about this years later from reading Reggie’s notes. I suspect it happened when he was in Grade 11, while I was away at university, which would explain why I never heard about the mayhem at the time.

One of Reggie’s friends, who was involved with many of the school dances, told me that she doesn’t remember the incident. So I can’t independently confirm that it happened.

Reggie recorded the story himself, and his account is the source for this part of the story.

Graduation Day

The worst thing I remember Reggie doing to his principal happened at his high school graduation.

When Reggie’s name was called, he walked forward to receive his diploma. Mr. McNevin extended the diploma in one hand and offered his other hand for Reggie to shake.

Reggie took the diploma.

Instead of shaking his principal’s hand, he gave him the finger.

It shocked everyone in the building.

My parents were humiliated. Dad was furious for weeks, and I am sure Mum was embarrassed to go around town for quite some time afterward.

Looking Back

I debated whether to include this story.

I ultimately decided that I should, because this archive isn’t intended to preserve only the good or entertaining parts of Reggie’s life. Some of what happened was ugly, and this was one of those moments.

At the time, it could perhaps have been dismissed as another outrageous thing Reggie had done. Looking back as an adult—and knowing everything that happened afterward—I see it differently.

Publicly humiliating someone who had done nothing to deserve it, in front of his teachers, classmates, family and community, showed a disturbing disregard for another person and for the consequences of his actions.

I can’t say what was going on inside Reggie’s mind at the time, and I don’t think it would be fair to diagnose him in hindsight. Nor can I say that this behaviour predicted what would happen later in his life.

But I do think it was evidence that what was happening with Reggie had moved beyond harmless teenage rebellion.

My parents were already trying to deal with a son who was increasingly resistant to authority, using and selling drugs, getting into trouble and refusing to listen to the people who cared about him. They could see that something was going wrong.

Knowing what to do about it was another matter.