Students At Robert E. Lee High School Freak Out After Slight Name Change

On Monday afternoon, Texas high school students reacted with tears after Robert E. Lee high school, named after the Confederate commander in the Civil War, was renamed Legacy of Educational Excellence High School (LEE HS). 

The North East Independent School District board voted 5-2 to rename the school after tensions around Confederate symbols reached a fever pitch in August when an alt-right rally around a statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville resulted in one death.

The new name doesn't change much, but board president Shannon Groana signaled in a statement that the similarity may be intentional to keep the cost of the transition low, according to WCYB: "Depending on the new name, the cost to the District could be extensive… The marquee, signs around campus, the end zone, all of the athletic uniforms, dance, cheer, and band uniforms, etc. As a trustee, it is our responsibility to be fiscally responsible. We can minimize the number of things that need to be changed at the school."

The name change was inspired by an online petition created by 19-year-old Gianno Gomez, who wrote "We must make a statement against the White Supremacy movement," in the wake of the chaotic protests in Charlottesville. 542 of 2,443 name submissions met the board's criteria.

In the wake of the events in Charlottesville, cities around the country removed Confederate symbols once erected in pride. In North Carolina, protesters physically tore down a statue of a Confederate soldier in Durham.

The San Antonio Current reports that the school also considered a renaming in 2015 after Dylann Roof attacked an African-American church.

KSAT 12 reports that the school removed the Confederate symbol from campus in 1991, and trustee Edd White told MySanAntonio.com that previously the school had confederate flags on their sports uniforms and played "Dixie" during football games.