In recent years, Memorial High School alum Mya Berry has petitioned to change the name of the high school, as James Madison is not a suitable name for the school based on his history as a slave owner. Mya has a great point and the time is now for a change; to a name that better represents the school and it’s community.

There is no better name for Memorial High School than Bruce Dahmen Memorial High School.

Bruce Dahmen spent his entire professional career at Memorial High School, 40 years. Prior to being selected as Head Principal in 2005, Mr. Dahmen spent more than three decades at Memorial, teaching marketing and business, coaching basketball, baseball and football, and serving as assistant principal. His dedication to the school and the Memorial community is unmatched.

Not only was Mr. Dahmen dedicated to the school, but he cared about all students and those in the Memorial community to no end. He stood in support of those from every background and worked diligently to give everyone equal opportunities. His goal was to better the lives of every person who he came into contact with. When Mr. Dahmen passed away, countless stories came out about how he helped a wide variety of students through tough times in their life, encouraged them to reach for a goal that they thought was impossible or pointed them in the direction of their true calling. Thousands of people are better off because of their relationship with Mr. Dahmen.

From a logistical stand point, naming the school after Mr. Dahmen would be very efficient from a cost and planning standpoint. The main school logo (Wave M) would need no changes at all, as the school could still be referred to as Memorial High School. School documents and jerseys with Memorial written on them would still be perfectly usable. The school colors would need no changes and the school nickname and mascot would be more suitable than ever as the mascot is already named Bruce in honor of Mr. Dahmen (voted on by the students while he was principal, which is a huge testament to the respect that everyone had for him).

Mr. Dahmen had a huge impact on the Memorial community and naming the school after him would be a great way to help the compassion, inclusiveness and community building that he worked his entire life for, live on.

Please sign this petition and help urge the Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education to “Make Good Decisions” and rename Memorial High School in honor of Bruce Dahmen.

P.S. Vel Phillips would be a great name for a school in Madison. There are a few other schools in the district that also are in need of a name change that don’t have an appropriate and iconic representative of the school to change their name to. I think a great option would be to change Thomas Jefferson Middle School to Vel Phillips Middle School.