Seminole has had its fair share of problems in the past, but coming up with quirky building names has not been one － at least, not until 2015.

Many students have realized that a few of our buildings are not named in the Seminole-themed fashion like the rest. These include the buildings commonly referred to as the Art , Health Academy, Science, and Autobody and Auto Mechanic Buildings. What fewer students realize is that in 2015, the Seminole Newspaper sponsored a naming contest for these buildings, but mysteriously, nothing came out of it.

Here are what the buildings would have been potentially named:

Cafeteria －Campfire Pavilion

Health Academy －Shaman Hall

Science Building －Osceola or Shaman Hall

Art －Dreamcatcher

New Building －Arrowhead or Osceola Hall

In Section II of Seminole County Public Schoool’s naming and renaming policy document, it states that if the school board finds that the renaming of a school facility is “in order,” it will then follow a set of procedures, such as obtaining a recommendation from the superintendent before beginning final approval (as cited in Section III). It points out that the “responsibility for the final determination of whether a school facility is to be renamed shall remain with the school board.” In other words, the county makes the final decision. 

This process has worked for Seminole in the past. In the spring of 2009, the building we now know as Renegade was just beginning construction. The Seminole Newspaper was asked to make a ballot to name the upcoming building, with the encouragement of the then-principal, Mr. Mike Gaudreau. The process was carried out by the previous adviser of the newspaper, Mrs. Natalie Galed.

“Students would send in submissions of names they would like the buildings to be, and the most popular name [went] on a ballot,” Galed said.

Using the ballot, the students and teachers named the buildings now known as Warrior and Renegade. In time, a ballot process was put in place for the remaining buildings. Students sent submissions, but by the time the voting process had been completed, the board had put in place a new policy, according to Dr. Connie Collins. Sadly, the plans for renaming these buildings seem to have fallen through the cracks thereafter. 

For instance, at one point, the school was considering naming the Health Academy building after its founder, Mrs. Nancy Julian. 

“I think it would be nice to have Health named after Mrs. Julian,” Dr. Collins said.

Several teachers also had pushed for the Health Academy building to be named after Mrs. Julian. However, they are now retired, and nobody else seems to be taking up the cause.

“Basically, it was an empty promise,” Galed said. “We literally named every existing and unnamed building — including the front office and cafeteria — as well as new building(s) they were planning. Yet here we are all these years later.” 

Now, as the class of 2018 prepares to graduate, the name game continues. Despite popular rumors among the student body over previous years that the names Health Academy and Science Building were coming back up for vote (and that the Science Building would be renamed “Trail of Tears”), no action has been taken. It will be up to administration, and the student body at large, whether these buildings ever receive the names they’ve been awaiting for so long.