By Starla Pointer • Staff Writer • 

Committee to suggest new names for Columbus Elementary

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Comments

Joel R

Please tell me this article is a parody of the woke nonsense that we are seeing in other parts of the country??

Vineyard

Another attempt to change history. Trying to find a name that won't offend anybody? People need to visit third world countries and discover how good they actually have it here in the USA. Stop leaving leadership issues to the 3rd graders! The School Board should be adults and actually lead. This could be a real teaching moment, but instead.....

tagup

Change history?….Christopher Columbus was not a person to be honored…torture, mass murder, selling natives into slavery all in the pursuit of gold. He didn’t even discover the America we live in. Seems like removing his name is a good thing. More like correcting history.

sbagwell

I'm with tagup. Two reasons:
1) Columbus was an absolute wretch of a person, a murderous thug. He's not someone deserving of any kind of honor.
2) He has utterly no local tie. If we're going to honor someone, I'd prefer it be someone who actually made a positive difference in local lives
Steve

Lulu

What about Phil Sheridan?

tagup

No schools by his name in the McMinnville district that I know of….

Joel R

Sadly, with our new left wing school board in place I have a feeling cancelling Christopher Columbus is just the tip of the iceberg. It's going to get really weird around here over the next couple of years.

Joel R

I don't think MaryAlice would have allowed this type of thing for a minute. And she darn sure wouldn't have pushed innocent third graders in front of the cameras and news reporters as a cover. That's truly beyond the pale. If our new superintendent wants to ban Christopher Columbus she needs to stand in front of the cameras and in front of the reporters and explain herself. For the love of God, leave the kids alone.

Joel R

What a missed opportunity. Imagine if the teachers had taught these kids the truth? That people are complicated. That we all seem to have a good side and a side of that's not so good. That history is complicated and messy. Often it's fragmentary and not always as scientific as we'd like it to be....specially when studying people who lived hundreds of years ago. That we have really important things to do in school...like improve at math and reading and writing. That wringing our hands and worrying about our school name and what someone who lived hundreds of years did or didn't do takes our focus off of those more important goals. That we can look at life in a nuanced way. Things aren't all black and white. That we don't have to ban everything and everyone that we don't like. Imagine teachers like that? It's easy if you try.

tagup

What “new” school board members are you talking about Joel? Most were incumbents. School is about more than reading & writing and math… It’s about critical thinking skills, and how to get things done… seems like this 4th grader is doing just that!

Bleepbloop

Naming a school or any other public building after someone is a honor, not a right. Here are just a few reasons why I would say Columbus should not be honored.

Exploitation and Slavery: Columbus and his crew subjected indigenous populations to forced labor, brutality, and enslavement, resulting in the suffering and deaths of countless individuals. He even took young indigenous girls as sex slaves for himself and his crew.
Disease and Demographic Collapse: The arrival of Columbus and other European colonizers brought diseases like smallpox, measles, and influenza to which indigenous peoples had no immunity. This led to devastating population declines and the decimation of entire communities.
Cultural Destruction: Columbus and subsequent colonizers disregarded and actively suppressed indigenous cultures, traditions, and languages, leading to the loss of invaluable cultural heritage.
Land Dispossession: Columbus's voyages set in motion a wave of European colonization that resulted in the displacement and dispossession of indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands, often accompanied by violence and coercion.
Legacy of Colonialism: The actions of Columbus and other explorers laid the foundation for centuries of colonialism, oppression, and systemic inequality that continue to impact indigenous communities to this day.

Where would you draw the line Joel? Jeffrey Epstein Middle School? Stalin High? I bet you would want them to change Malcom X school for the gifted. The idea of honoring someone like the local Beverly Cleary sounds amazing to me.

Joel R

Kind of bummed that none of you recognized my very subtle Beatles reference. I think John Lennon might've smiled at it (even though he definitely wouldn't have agreed with my post).

Hibb

She's a little young to be a historical revisionist. What's next? Are those sitting statues going away too? This is just nonsense, pure and simple.

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