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Barack-y Mountain High bound for Boulder?

Students want to rename school for new president

By Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News (Contact), Alan Gathright, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published February 12, 2009 at 12:05 a.m.

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Renaming Colorado's oldest high school after America's newest president could prove tough for students behind the idea.

The Student Worker Club wants Boulder High School to become Barack Obama High School and scheduled a news conference on campus today to make its case.

The group's president, Ben Raderstorf, said the news conference comes on "the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth to commemorate both the role he had in making the election of Barack Obama possible and the social progress that has been made since he issued the Emancipation Proclamation."

Principal Bud Jenkins doesn't anticipate a rush to rename the school founded in 1875.

Ultimately, it would take approval by the Boulder Valley School District Board.

The district policy reads, "The renaming of a school shall be considered only when district restructuring creates a new school or in other extraordinary circumstances deemed by the Board of Education."

But "extraordinary circumstances" is subjective, said district spokesman Briggs Gamblin.

"It will be up to the students to make the case that they feel that extraordinary circumstances exist to make this name change necessary," he said.

So far, the district has not approved any name changes, although there were some modifications in the 1990s at two focus schools: High Peaks School at Aurora Seven and Creekside Elementary at Martin Park.

"We kept the building names," Gamblin said, noting the changes were similar to having Mile High Stadium in Denver called Invesco Field at Mile High.

Gamblin said he knows of only one example of a Boulder school being renamed, and that was well before Boulder Valley School District was formed.

"It was done in the early 20th century," Gamblin said.

The school was Pine Street School, which was renamed Whittier Elementary in 1903 in honor of the poet John Greenleaf Whittier. "It was a student-initiated project," he said.

Gamblin said that since the Boulder Valley School District was formed in 1961, it has had a policy about naming schools.

"What the students will need to show is there is broad-based community support," he said. "There is a very specific process and there is a reason for it - you want to let the community engage in the discussion. The name belongs to the whole community."

Jenkins said he applauds Student Worker members for being enthusiastic about President Obama, but added "of all the things in the world that need to be changed, Boulder High School's name is probably way down the list."

"Why not go out and get involved in working at the homeless shelter or Habitat for Humanity or a thousand other things in the community that . . . are really going to make an impact on the world?" he said.

Raderstorf agreed that such volunteer work is "definitely very important" and said members of the club, which has a record of social activism, already are involved in those efforts.

"But we also see that names and symbolism are really a lot more important than just a name," he said. "It really will serve to inspire the community, inspire the students and really make much more of a difference than just putting up a new sign."

Raderstorf pointed out district policy says "schools will be named for . . . national leaders whose names will lend dignity and stature to the school; or significant or pertinent events," among other criteria.

"It's not something that's unprecedented nationally," he said, noting that elementary students on Long Island, N.Y., successfully campaigned soon after the election to rename their school Barack Obama Elementary School.

"It's going to be difficult, but it's definitely not to going be impossible," Raderstorf said.

Comments

  • February 12, 2009

    6:33 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    VeryOpinionated writes:

    The Rocky's headline over the story contains the phrase: "...students display the audacity of hope." I'd change that title to read something like "...students display the naivety of youth." Give the President Obama a chance to prove himself. Remember how popular Bush 43 was right after 911? If some group of high school students had wanted to rename their high school to Bush Senior High, they'd be the laughing stock of the community right now - especially if it was in Boulder.

  • February 12, 2009

    7:13 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    HollyGoLightly writes:

    I agree with Very Opinionated. It is just way too early to start renaming after Barack Obama. Wait a few years and see how well things go before deciding to rename the school.

  • February 12, 2009

    8:13 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    ScottSkog writes:

    I say, Let the students try to make it a reality.

    To have the honor of being the first school in the nation to be named after President Obama is worth the risk. After all, he is just trying to correct the course of decades of ruinous GOP policy has had on our country. He's not the one who lied us into war. He's not the one whose trade policies have closed up factories across the country only to have them open back up in China. He's not the one who fought against measures such as increased CAFE standards to reduce out dependence on foreign oil. He is our Hope and already has been working hard to reverse the course of GOP incompetence.

    Even if he fails, it wouldn't be the first time our country has named schools after mediocre Presidents, (even horrible ones)

    Case in point. My wife attended Herbert Hoover Elementary school in Palo Alto, California. Those of you who don't need a history lesson know Hoover was the President during the start of the Great Depression, who believed we should just let the chips fall where they may (sound familiar?) and did little to correct the 25% unemployment our country was experiencing.

    Eventually the people of Palo Alto changed the name of Herbert Hoover Elementary School to Barron Park.

    If Obama doesn't succeed, then our country will be in the midst of a 2nd Great Depression, and Barack Obama High School name will be the least of our concerns

  • February 12, 2009

    8:30 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    CSU5280 writes:

    these students should be suspended for thier stupidity!!! they guy has yet to accomplish anything...

  • February 12, 2009

    8:57 a.m.

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    VeryOpinionated writes:

    ScottSkog said "To have the honor of being the first school in the nation to be named after President Obama is worth the risk."

    Scott, I hate to break it to you, but BHS wouldn't be the first. Friday, Nov. 21, 2008 - "At the behest of its students, an elementary school near New York City has been renamed (formerly Ludlum Elementary School) after President-elect Barack Obama."

  • February 12, 2009

    9:03 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    bobjjones writes:

    Bummer. VeryOpinionated beat me to it.

    Right around 9/11, Bush's approval rating was at or above 90%. Currently, according to Gallup, Obama is at 63%. If they were to rename the high school (they will not), it would be because Boulder wants to make another lame statement.

    I'm glad students have the right to fight for a (losing) cause, and this will be a good part of their education.

    But when they get beaten down by reality, it's unfortunately that their parents will help them feel a false sense of entitlement and encourage the crying.

    I went to Boulder High, and become more and more ashamed of what used to be my home town. Students - wake up.

    If you want to rename the school, wait until he's about 5 years out of office: that's about the amount of time necessary for anyone to judge his successes and failures with the proper perspective.

    BTW - Bush did stink (wow, they censored the other s word) as president, and I'm glad Boulder High students didn't convince the community to rename the school around 9/11. But in 5 years maybe some details on what was happening during his term will prove me wrong. I doubt it, but there's a chance.

    Obama has done what no black man has done before - something he and the whole country should celebrate. But enough about that. Yay, he's black. Move on now. True equality means we ignore race, height, weight, number of limbs, eye color, hair color, hairdoo, etc. Stop treating him different now because he's black. If it's not about that, why do you all WORSHIP him so? He hasn't done anything yet!

  • February 12, 2009

    9:07 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    bobjjones writes:

    Clarification: The only reason I brought race into this is that I didn't see this sort of worship of previous democats like Clinton - he was president not too long ago, remember? Oh, right - you were 8.

  • February 12, 2009

    9:14 a.m.

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    ScottSkog writes:

    Oh well, Good for that elementary School. Maybe if the students get going they can be the first High School.

    I live up in Fort Collins, and the School board decided our new High School several years ago was to be named Harmony High School, (as that was the name of a small town there which has long ago disappeared) A student group was organized against the name because they believed the name wasn't "Fierce" enough. They gathered petitions and changed the name to the Fossil Ridge High School Saber Cats. There is no "Fossil Ridge" in Fort Collins but C'est la Vie, the kids organized and voted for it.

    Personally I think if the kids could have realized that with the right mascot Harmony high would have been a fantastic name. I bet the Harmony High "Zen Masters" would have made David Letterman's top ten list.

  • February 12, 2009

    9:29 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Shamanphoto writes:

    Well here's something honoring George Bush to just sort of even things out just in case this goes through. Expect to start seeing these in most public places you visit. Good ol' Bush deserves to be honored too I think.

    http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a87/...