Oak Forest High School 'Out of Space' for Alumni Photos, New Digital Display a Solution

Oak Forest High School administrators' plans for a new, digital catalog and display of accomplished alumni might not be popular among some, but it's a timely solution for an ongoing problem. 

Piled in boxes in school offices, are seven years' worth of alumni photos for which they've just plain run out of room to display, said Principal Brad Sikora. Sikora and Athletic Director Ron Towner researched converting the collection into a digital format, for display on a "Wall of Honor" outside the cafeteria. 

Outraged over the decision, student Jessy Sandoval started an online petition urging administrators to reconsider and that, "a single computer screen and freshly painted walls should not replace the thousands of powerful images that inspire all who attend and visit OFHS."

Sikora and Towner have the best of intentions, they said, and are looking for a way to preserve history, instead of letting time further take its toll on some of the oldest images. And to make room for new ones. Images of Oak Forest's athletes span the hallway from the cafeteria, down to the hallway surrounding his office, Towner said. 

"We're out of space, and we needed to come up with something else," Towner said.

"We did research on this, and this is what other schools are doing," Sikora said, citing Glenbard West as one example. The program for the display was designed in-house, and the screen cost the school roughly $1,500. 

While the display will start with just one monitor, they hope to add another in the future, Towner said. The area around the screen will be framed and surrounded by graphics illustrating the athletics program.

The change will also take weathered, water-damaged photos and transform them into clearer digital copies, with the athletes' names, sports and accomplishments all keyed into the searchable database by hand. The images will be shown larger and clearer, at eye level, instead of being stacked on top of each other in rows on the wall, Sikora said. 

The state "Wall of Fame" will remain intact, Sikora stressed, and photos of current student-athletes will be rotated as athletes graduate—as is the current practice.

Removing the photos from the cafeteria walls opens the area for display of other students' accomplishments—murals, artwork, and more, Towner said. 

The biggest challenge was containing the photos to the physical education area, ensuring the they aren't the only representation of the school, he said.

"We ultimately have to remember, we're a school," Towner said. 

Sikora is amenable to forming a committee of any alumni, students, and community members who would like to come up with an alternative plan. 

"People think we're changing the culture of the school," Sikora said. "But the culture isn't in the photos. It's in the work that goes into them."

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