Editor:
Re: Name changes, Williams Lake Secondary School and Columneetza Secondary School.
I totally do not agree with the name changes of the above mentioned schools.
I am sure many who graduated from the senior secondary school of Columneetza are in the same state of mind.
In perspective, it is not very often a name of a school is a genuine name in a First Nations language.
Any school names in Williams Lake are mostly in English. Columneetza Senior Secondary School was an acceptable name.
I am wondering who decided in the changes of the school names. Was there a proper voting in this name change?
Or was it a way of getting rid of a beautiful name like Columneetza? I feel it is up to the people in local and remote communities to make the final decision of the name change. Columneetza Secondary School set a good standard. I was proud to have graduated from Columneetza.
As of today, what are we to celebrate when we have a forty year graduation ceremony?
They should withhold or rescind the school names chosen until an appropriate school name is selected properly or settled.
Would it have been better to have a vote in the names selected instead of telling the people about what names are appropriate for a school name and simultaneously the school board allowed a school name to be voted upon without the public’s knowledge?
And that’s how I felt it was done. Which means the whole method of choosing a school name wasn’t done in a fair process.
I heard many people were surprised of the changes and many didn’t know of those changes happening until just recently.
Lets be honest and prudent of this whole process or action in the changes of a school name. There are many people who would like the school name to remain the same.
Maybe it should’ve been called “Columneetza Campus One” and the other, “Columneetza Campus Two?”
We talk about bullying not being permissible. Isn’t this a form of bullying?
The school board should have respected the First Nations culture before considering any name change which should have been approved by all Chiefs in the district.
Ivor Deneway Myers
Williams Lake