March 24, 1984 - 40 years ago today - five students reported to Shermer High School in Shermer, Illinois, for all-day detention.
At the end of the day, they left this note for their Barry Manilow wardrobe-raiding Vice Principal:
“Dear Mr. Vernon,
We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. But we think you’re crazy for making us write an essay telling you who we think we are.
"You see us as you want to see us… In the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal… Does that answer your question?
Sincerely yours,
The Breakfast Club”