Controversy Over the Wall of Honor to be Installed in the Piedmont High School Library
Students express disappointment in the decision process –
As reported > here, “PUSD has announced a groundbreaking ceremony on May 18 for the Wall of Honor at the Chris Stevens Memorial library, which will house a database recognizing past and current service members from Piedmont.”
According to reports, the installation in the library did not receive School Board consideration nor approval because funding was coming from outside sources.
Perhaps unknown to the School Board, a controversy over the installation existed amongst students, who wanted the matter publicly aired and considered based on a process prior to approval of the project by the Superintendent.
In an editorial published April 26, 2017 in The Piedmont Highlander, Piedmont High School’s student newspaper, the editors agreed to the following statement:
“As an editorial board, we once again feel that the school has decided to enact something that would directly impact the student community without adequate input from students. If we were to take a poll about the Wall of Honor (which we urge the administration to do) – not even just asking if students support it, but if they have every heard of it – we estimate that more than half of the student body would have no idea what we are even referring to. This lack of information concerns us, and it should concern students, teachers, and the community alike.” The Piedmont Highlander
A statement made by a prior Piedmont Highlander Editorial Board stated:
“Proposals like these should have a standardized process for approval in order to fully consider the nuances and create opportunity for thoughtful community feedback.
“As part of a standardized process, a set of criteria needs to be established. One criterion that we should consider is whether a campus display honoring graduates should honor them only for activities that directly involve the school. PHS generally does not recognize its graduates for their service to society — no matter how admirable – and it would be highly impractical to honor every graduate who leaves a positive impact on the world.” The Piedmont Highlander
