Talk:Oak Park and River Forest High School

Ludacris

Ludacris has been mentioned as a former student of Oak Park & River Forest High School. Is there any evidence that Ludacris attended Oak Park River Forest High School? There is supporting evidence needed.

We should have a discussion and some evidence needed before posting Ludacris as attending the school.

The only link that I can find is [link to copyvio website removed]. It mentions that Ludacris was in the Chicago area until at least age 12. But it also states that he moved to Georgia the same year. This seems too young to be a high school student.

At Ludacris it states that he did attend Banneker High School according to the article at: http://www.nndb.com/people/599/000045464/ -Emmadi 12:38, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

WikiProject class rating

This article was automatically assessed because at least one WikiProject had rated the article as start, and the rating on other projects was brought up to start class. BetacommandBot 10:27, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

Alumni

I have finished referencing the alumni. I removed Ludacris again (nothing came up in my searches). I also removed Anna Chlumsky. According to this sun-Times article, she graduated from Walther Lutheran,and there is no mention she ever saw OPRF. (article info, in case the link dies: Pearlman, Cindy; 'My Girl' Anna Chlumsky, all grown up - Chicago child star has lived full life, is set to get back 'In the Loop'; 21 July 2009; Chicago Sun Times). If someone finds something contrary, post it here and lets all see it. Otherwise, I think this article says she is out.

blue and orange deletion

I just deleted the section that talked about University of Illinois adopting its colors from OPRF when Coach Zuppke went there in 1913. This page from UIUC states that orange and blue were not adopted until 1947, and that the colors had nothing to do with athletics. If there is another source contrary to this, bring it here for discussion. LonelyBeacon (talk) 22:33, 30 July 2009 (UTC)

notable alumni

I have removed the following alumni from the article based on the absence of a reliable source. If a reliable source can be found, please re-add them to the article with the properly formatted citation.

• Mason Gamble: child star of Dennis the Menace and Rushmore'referenced and added
• Michael Gerber, 1987: humorist (Barry Trotter)
• James Thomson is a biologist best known for his work with human embryonic stem cells.referenced and added
• Michael G. Turnbull: FAIA, Assistant Architect of the Capitol in Washington, DC

I found a reference that states that Mason Gamble did attend OPRF. The site is http://www.mason-gamble.com/. This appears to be the official website of Mason Gamble. I believe it is a credible source. Emmadi (talk) 22:02, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

I found minutes of board of education meeting stating that Mason Gamble is a National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalist. The site is http://www.oprfhs.org/export/sites/oprf/about_us/board_of_ed/bb/102303.pdf Emmadi (talk) 00:14, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

I'm not so 100% sure about that .... its probably OK, but I have seen people challenge those before.

I found a source stating that James Thompson graduated from OPRF. The source states "James Thompson, Class of 1977, Scientist, researcher and creator of the concept for the Stem Cell process." The site is http://www.oprfhs.org/export/sites/oprf/about_us/board_of_ed/board_meetings/Regular_Meetings/Minutes/062807.pdf. The site is a PDF file. This information is located at the top of page 2. The source is OPRF High School. I believe this is a credible source. I will not post this until someone agrees. Emmadi (talk) 22:44, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Wunderbar! That reference is a set of legal minutes of the Board of Education meeting. I think a webcite is OK for this. Feel free to add it if you want. If not, I will add it in a few days. LonelyBeacon (talk) 22:49, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

I believe that the James Thomson source can also be used for John Register notable alumni sports, and potential notable alumni Charles Cary, Chairman of the Chicago Board of Trade Emmadi (talk) 00:09, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

We could add that reference for John Register, but Charles Cary doesn't meet the notability requirements. In order to get a listing, an individual either needs to be the subject of an article (blue linked) or eligible for an article. In the case of john Register, he was a competitor in the Paralympics. Technically, you need to compete in the Olympics, but I (personally) think that it is equivalent. Someone may yet remove him even with the citations. I'm not sure that Charles Cary meets the criteria listed at at WP:BIO, which is what sets the criteria for notability. BTW .... really nice job in finding that source. As you can see, this article has not only grown to enormous lengths, but I am convinced that it may be very close to getting bumped up to an "A" or a "GA" rating ... of which there are very few school articles that reach that. Every little bit helps get there. LonelyBeacon (talk) 00:15, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Michael Gerber - There is a source summary of board of education's meeting. The site is http://www.oprfhs.org/export/sites/oprf/about_us/board_of_ed/bb/012303.pdf. The source states on page 1 (Board's Action), "and a donation of $500 to the Trapeze by Michael Gerber, a 1987 graduate and his wife Kate Powers, a 1990 graduate." It looks very reliable. Emmadi (talk) 07:04, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

The source is certainly reliable, but, IMO, I don't think it confirms the alum. If it had said something like "dontaion from Michael Gerber, author of "Barry Trotter"" .... then there's no problem ... Personally, I have no doubt the guy is an alum, but the overall consensus is that there should be a reference that unambiguously identifies the person. I hate to sound difficult ... and my interpretation of policy is certainly not the only one. LonelyBeacon (talk) 12:57, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Assessment

It has been requested that I assess this article, and I am giving it B/High. The article is long and detailed and contains most of the content needed for a great school article. The main gaps are in some refs for alumni, a few more pictures of the school within the middle sections of the article would be good also. The school's long history and alumni merit high importance, and I will add this as another potential good article candidate. Camaron · Christopher · talk 13:27, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

Remaining references were reformatted to proper format. LonelyBeacon (talk) 17:47, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Post Assessment Work

uncited alumni have been removed from the article. They are noted above on this page, and can be readded if someone finds reliable sources. LonelyBeacon (talk) 17:56, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Prior to the assessment, there was no mention of non-athletic clubs/activities. These have been added. The entire section has been renamed "Student Life", and includes entries for the arts and clubs. Hopefully, some students from OPRF with an eye for taking some pictures can get some photographs of the school (inside), and perhaps one or two sports/activities in action to be added. I think I will be sending this to copyediting soon. LonelyBeacon (talk) 19:37, 30 August 2009 (UTC)

The academics section has undergone considerable expansion now, including the addition of graduation requirements, AP courses, language offerings, summer offerings, and academic honor societies. LonelyBeacon (talk) 21:57, 30 August 2009 (UTC)

Length issue

You asked me on my talk page if the alumni should be split of on to its own page. The article is now 90k long so yes I would agree on splitting it up, and alumni is a good place to start. If the history section does get huge that itself could be split off into its own article e.g. History of Oak Park and River Forest High School, and just a summary left in the main article. Camaron · Christopher · talk 10:22, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Over the next week or so, I will try and finish out the history as best I can, and I will try and make a decision to get the ball rolling. Right now, I am deciding what to do with the notable speakers who have been at the school (lump them together, or leave them as is). If anyone else has any input, please chime in. LonelyBeacon (talk) 04:12, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

If the alumni section were to be removed to a separate article, this article would still be nearly 90k. I think by default the history section will have to end up being split off, though I know of very few high schools that have separate history sections. I will continue editing for now as is, and split the section off when I am done. LonelyBeacon (talk) 18:01, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

School history

I have split off the history section to a separate article now. It has been pointed out by one editor that the current paragraph which acts as a recap of the history section may be too political. I tried to reword it a little, but I don't think I have made any substantive changes. I hope other editors will take a crack at this. I hope to, very soon, take this to copyediting as a next step toward moving this article up to GA. LonelyBeacon (talk) 04:59, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

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