W E D N E S D A Y
September 3, 2025 Vol. 46, No. 10
1980 - 2025
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J URNAL WJ45
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@oakpark
of Oak Park and River Forest
A guide to local dining INSIDE
New Trinity president has deep roots Focused on safety, OPRF with school and community Former board chair and removes mother of two alumnae takes on new leadership role most exterior bathroom doors By JESSICA MACKINNON Contributing Reporter
To say Trinity High School’s new president is “new” may be a misnomer. Dr. Tina Taylor-Ritzler has been intimately aware of the school’s “special sauce” for many years. The proud mother of two Trinity alumnae and a former board chair, TaylorRitzler has had the unique opportunity to experience the school inside and out. Most recently, Taylor-Ritzler was a psychology professor at Dominican University, which, like Trinity, was founded by the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa. The decision to leave the university, which is only a few blocks down the street from the high school, wasn’t easy. She was deeply engaged during her 15 years at Dominican, co-leading a campus-wide strategy to enhance the first-year student experience, co-managing the transformation of STEM gateway courses to boost student retention and graduation rates, and co-designing a new curriculum that See TRINITY on page 11
Effort to curtail vaping, smoking, fighting, gambling By GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporter
TODD BANNOR
FRESH START: Trinity High School President Tina Taylor-Ritzler and senior students clap in incoming freshment at the school on Aug. 22.
In an effort to reduce incidents of student vaping, smoking, fighting and gambling, Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 has removed the exterior doors of most bathrooms, though not all. For Sabrina Tristano, a student representative on the OPRF school board, it’s not a big deal and the early results seem positive to her. But for others? Well … “There is a lot to think about for this,” said See BATHROOM DOORS on page 15
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