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Post by Yote 53 on Sept 20, 2018 13:23:52 GMT -6
I heard on the news this morning that the SF School District is moving ahead with building a new HS in Sioux Falls so it can be ready for 2020. The SF School Superintendent said something about not knowing what the name of the new school was going to be. Umm, duh, Sioux Falls Jefferson? 4 presidents on Mount Rushmore, 4 Sioux Falls, SD high schools. Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt...Jefferson.
Let's not make this harder than it needs to be.
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Post by kiyoat on Sept 20, 2018 13:41:33 GMT -6
I heard on the news this morning that the SF School District is moving ahead with building a new HS in Sioux Falls so it can be ready for 2020. The SF School Superintendent said something about not knowing what the name of the new school was going to be. Umm, duh, Sioux Falls Jefferson? 4 presidents on Mount Rushmore, 4 Sioux Falls, SD high schools. Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt...Jefferson. Let's not make this harder than it needs to be. I agree, but I'm sure the school board will have some committee formed that will solicit the public for names, ... etc. Did you know that there are rules about who schools can be named after? I don't know if it is state law or just school district policy, but it is very specific on what is not allowed. At least SF just demolished their "Jefferson Elementary School" a couple of years ago to build the Spanish Immersion school on that site. That should free up the name...
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Post by coyotecrazie5 on Sept 20, 2018 13:51:22 GMT -6
I figured it would be named SF Obama.
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Post by Yote 53 on Sept 20, 2018 14:12:58 GMT -6
If they screw this up, I don't know what to say.
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Post by coyote70 on Sept 20, 2018 20:28:23 GMT -6
Naming schools after old/deceased white men who were slave owners is definitely not in vogue right now, regardless of achievement. All I'm stating is to stay tuned.
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Post by Yote 53 on Sept 21, 2018 10:31:03 GMT -6
That's why I brought this up. The temptation to screw this up is palpable. Thomas Jefferson authored the Declaration of Independence, was one of the founding fathers of this country, served as the 3rd President of the United States, and has his face on Mt. Rushmore. This isn't just some old white guy who owned slaves. If this school is not named after him, given all the other SF schools are named for Presidents on Mt. Rushmore, then this country has officially gone insane.
This school naming thing is a bell weather test for me to see how far this country has gone off the rails. Fighting over what stuff is named is kind of dumb, but I think this one is worth fighting over.
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Post by kiyoat on Sept 21, 2018 10:50:37 GMT -6
I think there is some confusion right now about history. Some have brought up the fact that the founding fathers owned slaves as a "whatabout" reaction to removing confederate memorials in the south. To me and to anyone else that has actually studied history, those two examples are not equivalent. I will elaborate, if necessary.
If there is any stink raised in naming something after Thomas Jefferson, it would likely be by people that are angry over the Confederate memorials, rather than people that are angry about slavery, in my opinion. Hopefully this doesn't start a contentious political discussion, but if so, I will gladly defend my stance with facts.
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Post by coyote70 on Sept 21, 2018 13:42:49 GMT -6
Hope I didn't hit a nerve here. Yes, I agree, Jefferson should be the name of the new school. TJ's many achievements include the Louisiana Purchase, one of the major reasons his likeness is on the mountain. However, rightly or wrongly there are folks out there who won't agree to the name. Perhaps they will be interviewed on the media and garner some sympathy (?) we'll see.
I live about 7 miles from Mt. Rushmore but really don't have much interest in what name is actually chosen for the new school. As for political debate, you'll get very little out of me since we're on the same side on this issue.
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Post by kiyoat on Sept 21, 2018 14:36:30 GMT -6
Sorry to come off combative. I'm mostly thinking of the recent events in the South, and the lack of historical perspective and knowledge that people have, that want to enter the debate. To understand that issue you have to know about the history of the post-war South, with reconstruction, the "Lost Cause" mythology, Jim Crow Era, the Ku Klux Klan researgence in the 1920's, segregation, and the ways that symbols of the Confederacy have been used as weapons of intimidation and violence against anyone daring to question blacks' place in Southern society. Here is a long and complete article on the subject, if anyone wants to know more: www.splcenter.org/20180604/whose-heritage-public-symbols-confederacyOf course, we have a similar but separate issue right here in South Dakota with our historical figures' complicated history with Native Americans. I grew up in the Robinsdale neighborhood in Rapid City, and I remember when they changed Annie Tallent Elementary to Southpark Elementary. That was a long time ago, but I remember a lot of pissing and moaning over how dumb it was to change the name, just because she was a vicious racist that beat the native children in her care. As an adult, I have a better perspective. If changing Harney Peak to Black Elk Peak means that much to the Lakota, (it does) who cares? I've climbed that peak numerous times as a child and an adult, so the name Harney Peak does have a sentimental meaning to me. When I was a kid, nobody ever told me that the mountain's namesake was responsible for a massacre including many native women and children. I don't mind that it is Black Elk Peak now. To me it isn't erasing history or rewriting it. Nothing of historical significance to Harney happened on that peak. It's just a name.
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Post by Yote 53 on Sept 21, 2018 14:55:42 GMT -6
Hard to not delve into politics with this subject, and I don't want this to devolve into a mess here. I am looking at this from a historical perspective. We can all agree that slavery was a bad thing. We can also all agree that all of our historical figures are flawed in one way or another. Slavery was a part of society at that time and historical figures should be judged in that context. I hope that we don't reject Jefferson, one of the most important men in the history of our country. To do so, I believe, would be catastrophic, to reject our country's history and those who founded it.
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Post by coyote70 on Sept 21, 2018 15:10:58 GMT -6
Right you are kiyoat on the Harney Peak issue as an example. There's much more on the negative side regarding General Harney and nearly all folks out here supported the name change, which was long overdue. I climb Harney (whoops, Black Elk Peak) frequently. For me, it is much more adventuresome when climbing up from Palmer Gulch using the Lost Cabin National Scenic Trail and coming down on the northeastern side near Elkhorn Peak.
Regardless, it will be some time, I gather, that the naming issue will come before the school board in Sioux Falls. I'll sit on the sidelines for this one.
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Post by kiyoat on Sept 21, 2018 15:59:53 GMT -6
Sorry, I get a little politically combative when I'm hungry. I need a snickers. There. Better.
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Post by Yotes on Sept 21, 2018 18:46:29 GMT -6
A friend teaches at one of the current 3 high schools, he thinks it's going to be Sanford HS because they've apparently donated land for it to be built upon.
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Post by kiyoat on Sept 21, 2018 19:59:06 GMT -6
A friend teaches at one of the current 3 high schools, he thinks it's going to be Sanford HS because they've apparently donated land for it to be built upon. They’ve offered the land, but the school district hasn’t officially decided to use that location. Naming it Sanford would be funny and sad at the same time.
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Post by gopheryote on Sept 22, 2018 10:38:26 GMT -6
A friend teaches at one of the current 3 high schools, he thinks it's going to be Sanford HS because they've apparently donated land for it to be built upon. Wouldn't that be something? If Jefferson's history - from a different era - disqualifies him, can you imagine the lawyering/PRing to try to bury the pretty well known history of TDS? Would be fun to watch.
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