On Sunday, Dec. 6, St. Ignatius held its annual open house. That prompted in my memory how different the
nature of the open house is now from those held through the ‘60’s and
‘70’s. In those days, there was more of
a “carnival” atmosphere. Students were
assigned projects which were festooned on the walls of the classrooms and
hallways. Three-dimensional projects were placed on
desks for the visitors’ interest and, hopefully, amazement. One year, a Latin teacher, Ron Sipowich, led
a team of students to build a Roman galley which filled the 2nd
floor corridor.
Through the late ‘60’s and most of the ‘70’s, a sharp decline in
enrollment, brought about a sense of urgency. In the early ‘60’s, it was common for over a
1000 boys to show up for the entrance exam, but by 1970, that number had
dropped drastically.
The reasons for the decrease in
students were many and varied. There was
the tuition increase, the “Days-of-Rage” combined with our
location, and, finally, greater pressure brought to bear for Ignatius to give
the entrance exam on the same day as all
of the other Catholic High Schools. (Most
Catholic schools were subject to the dictates of the Chicago Catholic School
Board; Jesuit schools weren’t.) This
brought about a certain sense of desperation.
The tone of the open house went from “Look how smart and creative we are” to “Please, please, please come to Ignatius.”
In those early days, teams held
practices in the gym to show off our athletic programs. Now tables fill the gym advertising athletic
programs as well as non-athletic activities.
Academic programs, instead of being presented in different classrooms,
are now explained by teachers in the student library. For those of you old enough to remember, that
was the “4th floor gym”. The
school’s orchestra now entertains the visitors in the Brunswick Room, formerly
known as the “Cambridge Room” which was off-limits to all but the Jesuits in
residence. Finally, our award winning
theater group demonstrates their talents on-stage in the relatively new
theater.
I think it’s fair to say that. currently,
there is a more “professional” approach to recruitment. Now it’s, “We are an excellent high school
which promises an education in the Jesuit tradition. If you are interested, please consider
joining us.”
