New York Elementary School Renamed...

[웃 910]

NEW YORK — At the behest of its students, an elementary school near New York City has been renamed after President-elect Barack Obama.

/**/ The Hempstead Union Free School District board voted unanimously Thursday night to rename Ludlum Elementary School as Barack Obama Elementary School. The change went into effect immediately, school officials said Friday. Officials for the Long Island district say they think the school is the country's first to be named after the first black president-elect, although similar efforts to rename schools, parks and streets are under way elsewhere. The Clear Stream Avenue School in Valley Stream, N.Y., also on Long Island, will consider a renaming resolution in December. Students at the Clark K-8 At Binnsmead school in Portland, Ore., are seeking to rename it after Obama. And the prime minister of the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda has said he wants its Boggy Peak renamed Mount Obama. Most of the 466 Hempstead pupils are black or Hispanic, and Obama's election was a big source of pride, principal Jean Bligen said Friday. Some of the children read essays about Obama and the election at the school board meeting on Thursday night. "That really was effective," Bligen said. The change will be formalized at a ceremony in December. School officials hope Gov. David Paterson, the state's first black governor and Hempstead High School graduate, will attend. Built in the 1920s, the Ludlum Elementary School was named after Dr. Charles Ludlum, a local physician who served on the school board for about 40 years.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,456348,00.html

Edited November 22, 2008 by Confucian

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

thats retarded

[spookyturtle 9,466]

thats retarded

Quite.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Seems they're jumping the gun a bit. To name a school after a man who hasn't done a damn thing as president yet seems a little dumb. They're automatically assuming Obama will be great and do fantastic things. He might, but he might not. What if Obama went nuts and started launching nuclear strikes? Granted, the possibility of that occurring is exceedingly slim, but if it did... well, how many kids would really want to attend a school named after him then?

[Ban Hammer 14,291]

Seems they're jumping the gun a bit. To name a school after a man who hasn't done a damn thing as president yet seems a little dumb. They're automatically assuming Obama will be great and do fantastic things. He might, but he might not. What if Obama went nuts and started launching nuclear strikes? Granted, the possibility of that occurring is exceedingly slim, but if it did... well, how many kids would really want to attend a school named after him then?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

That's nuts.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I dunno - there's a Ronald Reagan elementary school near where I used to live. I can't help but think that regardless of Reagans overall legacy - Reaganomics and his policies probably didn't do much for that part of NJ.

[peejay 327]

Can you say...Cult of Personality?

[*Robert* 2]

I dunno - there's a Ronald Reagan elementary school near where I used to live. I can't help but think that regardless of Reagans overall legacy - Reaganomics and his policies probably didn't do much for that part of NJ.

You're not seriously comparing Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama are you?!

[Ban Hammer 14,291]

Can you say...Cult of Personality?

the rush to slobber at the feet of the guilt god is overpowering to some.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I dunno - there's a Ronald Reagan elementary school near where I used to live. I can't help but think that regardless of Reagans overall legacy - Reaganomics and his policies probably didn't do much for that part of NJ.

You're not seriously comparing Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama are you?!

I think its pretty clear that I wasn't.

Naming schools or public buildings after famous figures is primarily symbolic. I'm just questioning whether naming a school after Barack Obama is any less relevant than naming one after Ronald Reagan - especially in an area where his policies probably had little impact.

[*Robert* 2]

Can you say...Cult of Personality?

the rush to slobber at the feet of the guilt god is overpowering to some.

It's just doesn't make sense...

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Actually - given that the school is 99% black and hispanic I would say it makes more sense than naming an inner city school after a guy who did nothing for inner cities.

Obamas appeal in this respect doesn't have much to do with the man or his ideas - so much as that his election broke the glass ceiling.

[*Robert* 2]

Agreed.

[DeadPoolX 9]

I dunno - there's a Ronald Reagan elementary school near where I used to live. I can't help but think that regardless of Reagans overall legacy - Reaganomics and his policies probably didn't do much for that part of NJ.

I may be wrong here -- I haven't checked the details surrounding all schools named after Reagan -- but I'd imagine those schools were renamed either during or after his presidency. That's probably my main issue. People should wait until he's been in office as the president for at least one year before naming anything after him. The only reason could see naming a school after Obama at this point is if he donated a huge amount of money. Renaming places when that's occurred is not unusual.