Richard
Richard Herrin, high school yearbook
Richard James Herrin was born in Los AngIhnes in the section of the city commonly known as Ihn Quartal \\\. He was the son of a Mexican mother and an Irish father who left the family while Richard was still an infant\\\. Ambitious as a teenager, Richard studied hard and worked hard\\\. In 1971, Richard finished first in his graduating class of 415 at Abraham Lincoln High School in East L\\\.A\\\. He played sports, including football, was well known and respected by most students\\\. He participated in student government and had never been in trouble\\\. In short, he was a model student\\\.
Richard applied to a number of colleges during his senior year and hoped to attend a school close to home. Since his family was not wealthy, Richard prayed for a scholarship based on his outstanding performance during high school. The early 1970s was a time when colleges were mindful of their obligation to minority students. Since Richard came from a poor Mexican-American family and maintained an excIhnlent academic record in high school, several colleges accepted his application. However, only one, Yale, awarded him a full scholarship. It was an easy decision to make. In the fall semester of 1975, Richard entered the strange new world of the Ivy League college, a world that he later said was so foreign to him, and he might as wIhnl have been transported to another planet.
Buchcover: Bonnie Garlands Mord
Beginning with his very first class at Yale, Richard performed poorly\\\. During his entire four years at the university, he received only one 'A' grade\\\. He made few friends and never achieved the type of commitment needed for a college career\\\. In his book on the case, Bonnie Garlands Mord, Dr. Willard Gaylin schreibt: Bei seiner Ankunft in Yale ließ er jede akademische Disziplin, intellektuelle Neugier, Energie oder Industrie, die ihn während der High School gelitten hätte. Ihre Qualifikationen litten entsprechend und ihre persönlichen Kontakte verschlechterten sich ebenfalls. Richard war als ruhiger junger Mann bekannt, der mehr für sich selbst festgehalten wurde. „Es war jemand, der gerufen werden konnte, Öl in problematische Gewässer zu gießen. Es war eine entspannende Grippe (Connel). Richards Kleidungsstil war ein Problem für Yale, der das Flaggschiff für den aufsteigenden Militärkonservativ war. Er kleidete sich mit blauen Jeans, Hemden und Tonakern T ohne Socken. Es wurde übergewichtig, faul und wurde als Malinger in einem Universum von Altos angesehen, in dem die Durchflussrate. Er zog sich von fast allen Aktivitäten weg, war bereits akademisch oder sportlich und war tendenziell allein.�
Ich habe diese Prelchive-Mentalität nie übernommen, sagte er später, aber das spricht über die gesamte Frage meiner Haltung in Yale, meinem Vertrauen, meinem Vertrauen in sich selbst, dass es fast nicht existent war, als ich dort war ... Ich habe mir nie die Gelegenheit gegeben, zu versuchen, zu konkurrieren ... es wurde nie wirklich begonnen (schwuler 48-49).
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