In 1970 America was growing more concerned about the environment. It was the year of the first Earth Day, which saw 20 million Americans gathering on April 22 in parks, streets and auditoriums across the country for rallies and teach-ins on pollution and population growth. Later that year, President Nixon would sign the Clean Air Act of 1970 and issue an executive order establishing the Environmental Protection Agency.

Ramsey High school scheduled an all-day forum for the day before Earth Day. There would be a two-hour lyceum in the morning with speakers from the Minneapolis Tribune, WCCO, the Governor’s office and environmental organizations. Classes that day would include discussion groups on air and water pollution. The day would conclude with a multi-media presentation at an all-school assembly.

In other news, school administrators issued their new guidelines for “minicourses” and presentations by outside speakers -- the guidelines a Blueprint editorial had condemned in a previous issue. The new rules included a prohibition against “language offensive to community standards” and a requirement that a speaker “must conduct himself in a manner that reflects the moral values of the community.” A committee of students, teachers and administrators would require and review an outline of every presentation before it would be scheduled. Blueprint headlined the story, “mini control turns maxi.”

This was also the year that two students from Ramsey exchanged places with two students from Abilene High School in Kansas, attending each others' schools for two-weeks in April. Abilene was a town of less than 8,000; Roseville had a population of 30,000. Interviews with Ramsey and Abilene students showed a clash of attitudes and cultures.

Ramsey teachers were not as strict as those in Abilene. “In Abilene the teacher will tell you to sit up and listen,” said one Abilene student, who believed he could learn better in the more rigid environment. But the other Abilene student enjoyed Ramsey’s more relaxed classroom experience. A Ramsey student visiting Abilene noticed that in a school with only 800 students, “student teacher relationships are more personal.” Downsides in Abilene included fewer choices in English, world literature and other academic classes. Yet their vocational program was extensive with student taking apart cars and tractors and building a cabin in a carpentry class.