As course selection rolled around this year, many hopeful juniors expressed that they were shocked and disappointed when “Geopolitics and the World Today” was missing from the course catalog. 

“I had heard a lot of seniors talk about how much they enjoyed the class so I was really looking forward to taking it,” junior Joy Chu said. “I was pretty disappointed when I found out it wasn’t being offered anymore.”

After a five-year run, the Geopolitics class is no longer being offered for the 2024-2025 school year.

The class was created in 2019 by teacher Donald Cook, with the help of Assistant Principal Natalie Smith, to serve as an alternative to Economics. It focused on international trade and global issues, as well as sustainability. 

“I really wanted to introduce this class to the high school,” Cook said. “When Ms. Smith came along, she thought it was a good idea. Ms. Smith was really the person that helped quite a bit and pushed it across the finish line.”

The decision to pull the class was made by Cook after dealing with a series of parent conflicts over the course’s curriculum. Cook described the majority of conflicts as taking place during unit three, where the class covers environmentalism, as part of the green graduation cord requirement.

“Unit three is about the most important thing to the entire planet, which is the crumbling environment and the climate change caused by man,” Cook said. “We talk about rising sea levels, worse storms, less clean drinkable water; really, really terrible things that cost money.“

Some students and their parents took issue with the subject and communicated this to Cook, ultimately leading to conflict. The ongoing disputes with parents and students ultimately resulted in Cook canceling the class. 

“If I’m not being defended in these climate science arguments from these angry parents, I don’t want to teach geopolitics anymore, it just isn’t worth my time,” Cook said. “The mental strain was unbelievable on me personally.”

Administration had no comment on the removal of Geopolitics. 

The dissolution of Geopolitics will affect the green cord, a distinction granted to graduated seniors who took three environmental-based classes offered at Oak Park High School: Environmental Science, Environmental Literature and Geopolitics. With the removal of Geopolitics, Economics will become part of the green cord classes.

Though Geopolitics will not return for the upcoming school year, there is still a chance it will be reinstated in the future.

“Some changes in our country and our world could allow the class to come back and be a safe place for students to discuss ideas,” Smith said.