James K. Polk does not represent the ideals of our school district. He used Manifest Destiny, the idea that some people are superior and more deserving based on the color of their skin, to wage an unjust war and steal land from Mexicans and Indigenous. He also owned slaves and opposed abolition. Having my school named after Polk makes me feel unwelcome and disgusted. There are plenty of honorable people of color who have done great things for our community who should be honored instead. Central Unified should do what is right and stop celebrating a person who is not a role model for our community. Central Unified's student body is 85% students of color. It is time to celebrate a person of color by naming my school after someone like Maria Moreno who was the first woman farm laborer to be hired as a union organizer. When we see people like us being celebrated, it makes us feel like we can accomplish great things. We cannot change the past, but we can make changes to improve our future. And we should change the mascot to the axolotls, an amphibian known for its ability to regenerate body parts. This encourages us to seek continuous growth, and it will help raise awareness about their endangered status.

My approved poster (to the left of Effort 2) was torn down by two parents at school. The district did nothing about this, but they tried to get me in trouble for attempting to share my presentation with my class. My teacher and principal said that it was offensive and inappropriate. Both of those parents were selected by the school board as members of the renaming committee. The school board voted unanimously to elect one of those parents as the chair of the committee (first renaming committee meeting December 7, 2021).