Rene Torres Deserves Recognition, But It Shouldn't Be Self-Promoted

My old elementary school, Henry Ford Grade School in Renton, Washington was one of many schools, built in the 1920's that were named after the auto tycoon. Henry Ford had already donated money to schools named after him and my birth town tried to get on the bandwagon, but never got a penny from Mr. Ford despite wasting the name of a school on him. Poetic justice.

Former TSC Trustee Rene Torres

I only cite this snippet from my background to illustrate the bogus nature of naming buildings. Admittedly, ulterior motives, political preferences and family ties play a keen role in many naming ceremonies.

Sometimes the building names just make you wince; Juliet V. Garcia Middle School, Aurora de la Garza, Joe Rivera County Annex.

It saddened me somewhat, hearing that my friend, former TSC Trustee Rene Torres, was promoting himself to be the designated name on TSC's R.E.K. building.  Rene has personally chronicled many aspects of Brownsville history, including his stunningly interwoven dissertation on the history of baseball, Brownsville and the Civil War presented five years ago at the Brownsville Historical Museum.

Torres has been the one repeatedly submitting to this blog historical articles, photos and memorabilia, always asking that his personal name not be used.  That sort of humility seems contradicted by pushing, now at least twice, for his name to be placed on a TSC building.

Below are the TSC charter requirements for naming a building: 

2. Naming of Buildings and Other Facilities a. College buildings and facilities should be named with the objective of honoring persons who have made notable contributions in personal effort and/or resources to the College District community. b. No person will be selected to be honored sooner than three (3) years following his/her demise. c. When construction of a building is planned or for naming current buildings and facilities, selection of a person to be honored by the naming may include the following steps: 1) The Chair of the Board will establish a selection committee of the Board which will: a) Investigate nominees to determine compliance with criteria. b) Report the nominee(s), if any, to the Board for their consideration. 2) The Board of Trustees may take action, at a regular Board meeting, by passing a resolution naming the buildings and/or facilities. 3) The Board may also name buildings and facilities under special circumstances. 4) Persons wishing to nominate an individual(s) should do so in writing to the Secretary of the Board.