Topic Proposal

          In my hometown there are two Catholic high schools: Central Catholic and Holy Name. Central, founded in 1940, was the first of these two schools. The school is housed in the old Luden Mansion (of Luden’s Cough Drops) and until 1964 was the main Catholic high school in Reading. Then, in 1964, Holy Name High School was founded and a fierce rivalry was formed. The games pinning the Central Catholic Cardinals and the Holy Name Blue Jays were always the best attended. Even throngs of alumni religiously (pardon the pun) attended. My grandparents, who went to Central, even once chose to go to a basketball game instead of a birthday party for my sister, who is enrolled at Holy Name. Needless to say, the pride of alumni and of current students is strong.

Recently, however, a decision was made that would change things entirely. Two years ago, Father John Barres became the new bishop of the Diocese of Allentown. One of the youngest bishops to date, Barres has been very active in his new role, making more appearances than old Bishop Cullen ever did. And for the most part, he has been extremely well received and liked, that is to say until this decision came along. Starting now, measures would be taken to merge Holy Name and Central Catholic. For the last couple of years, Central’s enrollment has been dwindling. The old mansion that houses the school is small, out of date, and basically falling apart. Holy Name is by far the stronger school with 500 kids compared to Central’s 200, larger facilities, and stronger athletics (although that last one may be a little biased on my part). Although others foresaw the closing of Central Catholic, they did not think it would happen so abruptly or in the manner in which it is happening. The bishop has proposed to merge to two schools into one “Berks Catholic” and house the school at Holy Name’s current location. Needless to say, students and alumni couldn’t be more displeased. Both schools will be forced to lose everything that once defined them: their name, their mascot, their uniform, their colors, their teachers, and their rivals. Instead of stripping both schools of their identities, I propose a more unitive movement. Although there is no alternative to the actual merge, there is no reason that both parties have to be negatively affected. Instead of the generic “Berks Catholic,” the school could be called “Holy Name Central Catholic High School.” Students and alumni, instead of being pinned against one another, could come together under a unifying name. Many of the decisions made by the bishop so far have included rebranding and a massive overhaul of the schools’ identities. If the history and traditions of both of the schools could be retained, I think the whole community would be much happier.