Good, bad vibrations

Judging by first reactions, two school-name changes aren't getting much support. Decisions can't always be based on popularity. However, these cases might be the time to listen to what's being said.

We refer to the debate over whether to keep the name Meyer Middle School and whether to change the name Cemetery Road to Jefferson Street. The first decision is up to the school board; the second, after a letter from the school board, is now up to the City Council.

When it comes to names, popular sentiment counts. Names are symbolic. Today's trend is to sell names to the highest bidder. Thus, names become corporate labels: Milwaukee's new stadium, Miller Park, for a brewery giant; Minneapolis's arena, Target Center, for the discount store chain.

Before this tasteless promotion, names had geographic, historic and personal meanings. In River Falls, the middle school was named after longtime educator DeWayne Meyer upon his retirement in 1992. Cemetery Road's history reaches back much farther to 1891 when the St. Bridget Church cemetery was established.

In both instances, the names have meaning: for a respected educator and for the location of a church cemetery.

Without a compelling reason to change, public feedback has been:

-Leave things the way they are. There are more important issues calling for attention from our school board and city council. Stick to those.

Whether the name Meyer was meant to go with the building or the school, the fact is people now associate it with the middle school. That association won't change when the school relocates to the current high school.

People are also skeptical about changing a recognizable, logical name like Cemetery Road for abstract reasons, such as arguing Jefferson Street would be an educational stimulus or that the name Cemetery could trigger violence from a disturbed student.

For many, cemeteries bring comfort of a final resting place for departed loved ones. It's been pointed out that naming the driveway to the new high school either Jefferson or Wunrow would give the school an address other than Cemetery Road. Such a move would preserve the Cemetery name and give the school a road with its own name

Our point is that naming a place or a thing has lasting significance. Undoing established names should not be done because other names sound better or give off better vibrations.