There’s a new high school set to open next year in a town called Frisco in Texas and some parents are upset with the name and want it changed. The school is expected to be named Lebanon High School because the building currently under construction sits in the middle of what was once an old farming town called Lebanon, but some parents are not convinced and believe that the name doesn’t fit the community and that Lebanon reminds them of wars and the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East.
I thought the story was a joke at first but BBC and Washington Post reported it as well and a meeting was scheduled to discuss the school name this month but I am not sure when. Personally speaking, I think the parents are making a big deal out of nothing as Lebanon is not an uncommon name in the US as there are at least 5 or 6 cities that share the same name. So far the school board has no intention to remove the word Lebanon.
The sad truth is that we are in need of new schools here in Lebanon to accommodate the ever growing flux of Syrian refugees while parents are arguing over the name of a school in Texas. I say let them ship the school to Lebanon and build a new one in a different location and a different name.
