In 1998, a spokeswoman for Bates stated that Bates had felt guilty for her failure to notify one of the young ladies, Elizabeth Eckford, that they were delaying the entrance into Central High School. The family of the child had no telephone, and the father did not return from work until 3 a.m. Eckford didn't know that she needed her parents to accompany her, and she also didn't know that she needed to gather with other black students that morning. As a result, Eckford met a mob by herself, when a kind reporter, Grace Lorch, took her out of the mob and guided her to the bus station. The previous night, Bates fell asleep before she was able to deliver the message to the family, and the girl attempted to attend her first day alone at the segregated school. Bates not only wanted the black students to receive the same level of education as white students, but she also wanted to make it her job for all races to have the same quality of education.