Barack Obama School Created In Long Island

ABC News reports that an elementary school in Long Island, New York, "has been re-named in honor of President-elect Barack Obama":

Ludlum Elementary School in Long Island's Hempstead Union Free School District was re-named at a board meeting Thursday, at the request of numerous school students.

"Just to watch these kids after the board voted on what they asked them to do, they were so elated," school district superintendent Dr. Joseph Laria told ABC News. "You want to talk about "Yes we can!"? That was a lesson in democracy."

Effective immediately, Ludlum will now be known as Barack Obama Elementary School, following a decision by the board to adopt the resolution drafted by students and staff.

The impetus behind the name change is credited to the school's proximity to Hofstra University, the site of the third Presidential debate, which reportedly captured the imagination of the students.

The school will be officially rededicated in January, following the Inauguration. Obama will be invited to attend the ceremony.

Comments

[Quazga09]

In the same token, chicago is building shrine to St. Obama the righteous of them all and he who shall save us. amen

[thecanadian]

Congratulations Kids! You couldn't have a more enlightened Leader. Follow your dreams now!

[Okieborn]

Why Not Obama / Clinton Elementary ????

[littlesongs]

You might have heard the news that Portland, Oregon may also be renaming a school for President-elect Barack Obama. These two local articles sum up the progress so far and it looks promising:

http://www.kgw.com/education/localeducation/stories/kgw_111208_education_obama_school_name.1a6cfe936.html

http://www.portlandobserver.com/story.asp?record=9091&section=Features

As someone who grew up in SE Portland, I believe this is a really marvelous idea. The Lents neighborhood has felt poverty, violence, hardship and struggle in a way known to few other parts of town. As the area undergoes a steady renaissance, renaming this long struggling school would reinforce the idea that real change was truly in the air. Even after all the years of neglect and underfunding, the kids from Binnsmead are still something really special:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/binnsmead

By my way of thinking, "Obama Marimba" would have even more of a ring to it.

[Berkeleyan]

May be premature, but BO is still the 44th US President. What happened to a baby named "Sarah McCain Palin"?

[ohiomark]

Getting elected is NOT an accomplishment. Jesse Ventura got elected.

Let's see what kind of President he will be first before we start naming buildings after him.

[teapartydude]

Really? NOt an accomplishment? Let's see you try to do it if it's no big deal.

[sociocanuck]

Pretty cool

[shirleyfeeney]

Very cool!

[MsWright]

This is WONDERFUL!!

I graduated over 25 years ago from this grade school, located in Hempstead, Ny

And I am am honored as an alumni, that my former grade school bares the name of a Great Man!

[Kalitipo]

It is not premature..he's the black/mixed.. whatever..just as the first president (GW)have so many schools and street and bridges in his name...NO WAY, IT'S NOT PREMATURE....

[papapj]

It's what they wanted...and it's called democracy...tough titties, party-pooper....

[coryco]

I can't find any articles that mention how the school got the name Ludlum. Is it after a person? If so, while I love BO, this could be weird for descendants of Ludlum (if it's a person).

[gps8001]

I'm from Hempstead, the name Ludlum doesn't mean anything to anyone. It's on Long Island but the town and school system are almost exclusively populated by black and latino students.

[NaturesNurturer]

I'm another Long Islander. I second that.

Hempstead has a large African American population and I am sure this election had a profound impact on the students. Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk counties, not Queens and Brooklyn) is sadly fairly segregated still and voted mostly for McCain. Plus, the 3rd debate took place just around the corner from Ludlum Elementary.... It was pretty darn exciting for us to host one of these events. No matter how Barack's president turns out, what he accomplished is historic and worth honoring. Those kids will be VERY proud to go to their school every day... and that can't be a bad thing! :)

[ThoughtAboutIt]

How much crap is names after Ronald Reagan? Too much. Even a Federal building. They even renamed Washington (as in George, not DC) National Airport. Pretty bogus.

[irisda]

I like Obama and everything, but this is really premature!
He can still potentially be a bad president. The guy didn't get started yet but we're already naming things after him. Come on! Let's be reasonable!
btw I'm not saying he can't be a good role model for kids (or anybody else for that matter). But lets not be hasty. Let's not make him into something he hasn't made himself.

[Just Joe]

Well, he has (with our assistance) made himself into the first black president of America. Nothing is going to change that historic fact.
He may end up being mediocre (although I doubt it). I don't think there is much chance he will be worse than Bush. AND Bush has an elementary school named after him already.
I don't know what you are worried about.

[Tetiana]

Just-Joe,

Wasn't their a s e w a g e treatment plant in San Francisco that had been named G W B U S H? Now that suites him perfectly.

Check this out. Look under p o l i t i c a l t o i l e t paper
www.piehole.com

[ckfan]

You don't get it. You're looking at this from the viewpoint of a white person who sees being elected to office as a normal passage for a politician who garners enough electoral votes to win the Presidency. It's much bigger than that.

It's not about the type of President he will be. The naming is because of what he has accomplished as an African-American and as a role model for kids. To be the first African-American to be nominated by a party is a HUGE accomplishment. To be the first African-American to win the Presidency is a DOUBLE HUGE accomplishment. That's what the naming is for. If we can name schools after poets then certainly we can name schools after O's major accomplishment - regardless of whether he's a good, bad or great president.

[rcwblessed]

You nailed it.

[shirleyfeeney]

Thank you...it's about HIM, not his presidency. He has inspired millions of children and that is something we've been lacking for a very long time--real honest heroes. Even my five year old recognizes BO. When I told him that he could truly be whatever he wanted to be when he grew up because of Barack Obama, he asked me "really?" and I said yes, honey, anything you want to be.

He replied, "Good. I want to be Indiana Jones."

[auret]

AMEN!

[Agnim]

Damn!
That was enlightening them. lol

Even the Germans are going agog at Obama, and some Americans still aren't enough awake yet. lol

[SeanGardner]

That's awesome. It cool to know that Obama truly has the effect on young people that I knew he has even before he announced his candidacy. Very heartwarming.

[NotMcCain]

How symbolic for these kids to be empowered in renaming their school for our new President-Elect!

I can see this catching on.

[FatherWolf]

New slogan: Be Like Barack

i.e.

Study hard and learn
Honor intelligence and knowledge
Create a stable home with a great spouse
Stay healthy and fit
Be serious but have fun
Plan, organize, carry through with everything you do
Dream big and do what it takes to make it happen
Decide what needs to be done and do it, even if it's not the most flashy thing to do
Seek to unite, not divide

Good advice for everybody, whoever they are

[ahoyhoy]

Wow! Too true, fatherwolf.

I love Barack and Michelle's stories of coming from nothing, but that hard work and good values made them the successes they are.

That was one of my first thoughts, when it finally really hit me that Barack had won: I hope the kids of today (especially urban AA kids and poor rural kids as well) see the Obamas' example, and know that there is hope, there is a future---if they are just willing to work for it.

[donbrown]

I still think they should have named that sewage treatment center in San Francisco for George W. Bush.

So appropriate.

[kylennblack]

No they shouldn't. That sewage treatment plant is in excellent working order and doing a great job of providing a necessary service to the community. It doesn't deserve the dishonor of being renamed after that chump of a president.

Bush. An insult to sewage.