Add one more group of people who aren’t fond of changing the name of S.E. Gross Middle School: the students.
Since the Brookfield-LaGrange Park District 95 school board announced last month that it was backing the formation of a committee to study a possible name change for the school, there has been a flood of sentiment against it.
The newest entrants into the debate have been a group of eighth-graders at S.E. Gross School, four of whom (along with one mom) protested for about an hour-and-a-half at the Veterans’ Memorial Circle in Brookfield last Saturday, holding up signs saying “Honor our alumni,” “Save the name S.E. Gross” and “Honk to save the name.”
“It was cold, but fun,” said Brookfield resident Liz Larson, one of the students. “We had a lot of people honk.”
The girls said that they will likely also make an appearance at the District 95 school board meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 11 at Brook Park School, 1214 Raymond Ave. in LaGrange Park.
The school name change issue is one of the items on the board meeting agenda that night.
The students said they learned of the proposal to change the school’s name after reading about it in the Feb. 20 Landmark.
“My mom told me about it, and I kind of got mad. It ruined my day,” said Bridget Brewer, also from Brookfield. “It’s our history and identity. Why would you want to change it?”
At a speech and drama festival that weekend, the girls were talking about the subject, when they were overheard by their social studies teacher, Shane Soto.
“He turned around and we told him how we felt,” said Larson. And he said we should come after school on Monday to talk about it.”
Soto said that the Monday after-school session was focused on brainstorming strategies to protest the name change.
The issue also fit in with what the class was studying in social studies, the industrial revolution, the emergence of labor unions and their protests against conditions.
“The right to petition, the right to free speech, the right to stand up for what you believe in-it all kind of fell in place,” Soto said.
“I learned that you should stand up for what you believe in, even if you’re not completely sure you’re going to win,” said Brookfield resident Kelly Kramer, also an eighth-grader at Gross School.
In addition to the protest at the circle on Saturday, the girls made a call to Brookfield Historical Society Director Kit Ketchmark, who agreed to meet with them last Sunday at the Grossdale Station.
The building is one of the village’s first structures and the one most closely tied to Gross’ influence in the creation of the village in the 1880s. Saved from the wrecking ball in 1981 and moved to its present location, it serves as the village’s historical museum.
Apart from one girl who had visited the station to get her picture taken with Santa during a Christmas celebration, none had been inside the museum.
“It was a good history lesson for everyone,” said Ketchmark, who also serves on the village’s board of trustees. “I gave them a tour and we talked about Gross. I’m not sure how aware they were of the history of Gross. We were there for an hour and a half.”
“We learned that he put a lot of money into the school and made a lot of this town,” Larson said.
Next Saturday, the girls are planning to circulate a petition outside local businesses and near the school.
Meanwhile, during homeroom periods this week, the school itself will be asking students for their opinions via a paper ballot on the issue. S.E. Gross School parents were sent a letter last Thursday asking for their input on the issue as well.
According to Principal Todd Fitzgerald, the letter asks parents their opinion on the name change with a request that they reply by March 17.
“I think it’s great that the kids found a cause they feel is so worthwhile to put their time and effort into,’ Fitzgerald said. “It’s important that they realize their opinion does matter.”