CCHS

Cathedral Catholic High School. Located in Del Mar. Mostly white people or Mexicans that look like white people. Small percentage of the students are Asian or African American. - "Introduction i'm reaching the point in my life where i've realized that establishments are not passive things that just let you go on your way. The recent drug busts, uniform crackdown, and the announcement today which implied explicitly that the administrators posses a blacklist, along with the possibly embellished record of theft, have led me to recognize that cathedral catholic highschool is not a catholic-christian community, but a sort of oligarchal facism. I. Complaints against and Interpretation of School Policies I for one, do not think i am getting the education my parents spend their hard earned money each year on, and i believe it is either time for me, and all of us to choose. Either I will keep on passively attending a school that wants to change everything about me, conform me until they can eventually stick biased ideas into their graduates who will then unknowingly apply these ideas for the rest of their lives. this is called brainwashing. the school touts catholic social justice, and will expel anyone who has an abortion, but our uniforms are controlled by ONE single store, which manufactures its products in El Salvador. The one redeeming quality is that they give steady jobs to many salvadorans, even though much of el salvador is controlled by violent gangs and corrupt politicians. VERY SUSCPICIOUS, not to mention that limiting the apparel to one store constitutes a monopoly. No other forms of khaki pants or polo shirts are tolerated. In some circles, this would be called corrupt, but since it is a policy of a private school they overlook it. Another flagrant abuse in my opinion is the abortion/pregnancy policy. While it is possible to remain at the school as a pregnant teenager, if you have an abortion you will be instantly expelled. It is my belief that this policy developed out of the traditional teachings of catholicism: marry young, and have lots of children. Having seen no examples of this policy enacted during my stay at cathedral, I would assume that the policy was enacted during the early years of uni to protect the early marriages that were common during that era for catholics. However, since the decision is made by an administrative committee, it is entirely up to the school whether a pregnant young woman can continue to recieve an education at cathedral. Pregnant or not pregnant, this policy reveals the innate contempt that we as students are held in by the school. The morality the school enforces is highly political, and many of the more "liberal" teachers and students have to hold their tounges. The final and most glaring policy in the handbook is what i like to call "the oppression rule". this rule dictates that "any activity considered to be detrimental to the school or community" is grounds for expulsion. Theoretically, this gives a committee of administrators the power to expel any student, at any time, for any reason they vote by majority to be detrimental. I could be expelled for writing this. II. Progressive education or Regression in general? Here are a few things you have probably heard promoted during your cathedral years: -The seminary -The military -Opus Dei (Indirectly) -Intelligent Design (in Biology or Religion) Believe it or not, you've heard all these. If you've watched channel one, you've been exposed to heavy military propaganda and biased new coverage. If you've taken religion, you've been sold the religious life. Ever heard of Steubenville? World Youth Day? Both tied to Opus Dei. Did you ever discuss intelligent design? Not an accident. Teachers are encouraged to bring it up, in the hope that it will be succesfully sold through the debate process, which is carefully moderated. Or perhaps you watched a video on it in religion class. All I can say is: don't take what you hear for granted. Cathedral Catholic prides itself as a blue-ribbon "liberal arts" education experience. However, you will note that there are only a handful of art classes, (luckily another will be added next year.) The only computer course is AP Computer Science, which will probably be taken out of the curriculum as of next year, due to Mr. Bennik's departure. Which brings me to the next point: Teachers. Cathedral has a wide range of teachers, some good, some not so good. Regardless, this year at the new campus I have seen more examples of teacher - administration conflict than I have ever seen previously. Various teachers have reported being monitored by the administration or pressured by the administration, even going so far as to come into their class and disrupt their lesson plan to check on them in a very unkind manner. More teachers are leaving than ever before. Recently , a department meeting was held, and the adminstration responded by warning all those present that they were not allowed to meet under those circumstances and possibly threatened to lay them off. This is possibly due to the fear of some kind of unionizing, since many catholic schools and parishes remain averse to unions even with papal encyclicals dating back to the 19th century establishing the right to unionize. I applaud this year's ASB for taking a stand. It's hard to stand up to an administration capable of expelling or giving detentions to anyone, for any reason. Is it a coincidence that this administration crackdown came right after the recent ASB survey, which called for greater action by the ASB to step in and give students some power. Once again, I applaud the ASB, but it is simply impossible for them to fight against a school where a referral (which can be given for anything from simple disrespect or smoking a cigarrette near school) invalidates them permanently from ASB service. Is the school broadening our minds, or focusing them in on propaganda and selective learning? You decide, but my opinion is the school has finally overstepped the line they have toed for so long. III. Resolution It is time for us, the students, to stand up and shout our demands at the school. We never see any action being taken to return CCHS to the students who attend it. It is time to take that action. Untuck your shirt. Grow out your hair. Forget to shave. Girls, roll up that skirt, let everyone see your beautiful legs. Wear scarfs and undershirts and stockings and high heels. Sag your pants low. Kick off your shoes and wave your smelly toes at everyone. Be happy, be free, and let the people know that we're not gonna take it, we're ready to rumble for the true vision of Christ: freedom, equality and fraternity for all people, self-expression, charity, and the beauty of humanity. I ask that if you support this cause, repost this with your initials under mine. Spread the word! Viva la revolucion!" -