Robert E. Lee High School in San Antonio will have a new name for the 2018-2019 school year — LEE High School. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
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This Robert E. Lee High School changed its name. Now both sides are upset.
October 11, 2017
Lee High School in San Antonio no longer wanted to honor the Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in its name. So they changed it. To LEE High School. See the difference?
In cities across southern U.S., schools, streets and other markers are being changed to remove references to the Confederate States of America, or anyone associated with it.
This Texas high school was able to change its name while keeping it pretty much the same.
A 'Legacy of Educational Excellence'
Robert E. Lee High School, more commonly referred to as Lee High School, received more than 2,000 name suggestions when the school board passed a motion to change the name in the wake of the Charlottesville, Virginia, protests and subsequent backlash against Confederate monuments.
Many of the suggestions were jokes, and some of them were inappropriate for a school. But some might say the name the school settled on isn't much of a change at all.
In a decision that appears to have pleased almost no one, beginning in 2018-2019, Robert E. Lee High School (or Lee High School for short) will become Legacy of Educational Excellence High School (or LEE High School for short).
The response
Those who wanted General Lee to remain the school's namesake and don't like the idea of a change at all believe the change that was made is pointless, since people are still going to call it Lee High School.
Those who wanted a clean break from any Confederate associations and who supported a change are disappointed, since people are still going to call it Lee High School.
Some students took it harder than others, with video interviews showing some crying after learning of the name change and claiming that they've been bullied over the name:
The school board, however, believes the name is both a legitimate compromise and a convenient decision financially and logistically.
“We can honor the legacy of the past,” school board president Shannon Grona said. “It is my hope that changing the name to Legacy of Educational Excellence will minimize the financial burden and help the community heal.”
It's hard to please everybody when faced with a decision like this. But it might be even harder to make both sides mad with the decision, and it seems Lee/LEE High School just may have done that here.
(H/T San Antonio Express-News)
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