Thousands of people have signed an online petition to rename a Dartmouth high school after the RCMP officer killed during the shooting rampage that claimed 22 innocent people’s lives on April 18 and 19.
The petition, launched on Friday, calls on the Halifax Regional Centre for Education and Nova Scotia Education Department to consider changing the name of Prince Andrew High School to Const. Heidi Stevenson High.
Stevenson, who was killed when she confronted the gunman in Shubenacadie, spent most of her 23-year career with the RCMP in Halifax Regional Municipality.
Shortly after the news of a sex scandal involving Prince Andrew broke last fall, principal Brad McGowan said he received multiple phone calls and emails requesting to change the Dartmouth school’s name, while others wanted it to stay the same.
"With the school board already reconsidering the name of Prince Andrew High School, this would be the opportune time to name one of our community schools after a real hero," reads the petition, adding Stevenson was a former school liaison officer.
Paul Farmer, a Prince Andrew High School alumnus, asked other alumni and fellow Nova Scotians to join him in signing the petition.
“I think it would be inspiring to the staff and students to have it renamed after Heidi Stevenson,” Farmer said.
“Her courage should be recognized and held up to honour her bravery, dedication and service, seeking to protect her partner and our citizens.”
Another alumnus, Thomas James, agreed with Farmer, adding he “would love to see the name change to a local hero (and) team name switched from panthers to Mounties.”
While more than 24,000 people had signed the online petition as of Tuesday afternoon, some people took to social media to say it’s too soon or something in her community of Cole Harbour would be more fitting.
“It is understandable in times of such grief and sorrow that we look for ways to memorialize the lives of those lost,” said Doug Hadley, spokesman for the Halifax Regional Centre for Education, in an emailed statement.
In February, the school advisory council asked the community “if there was a wish to initiate a process to change the school’s name given the controversy surrounding Prince Andrew.”
But with schools across the province closed due to COVID-19, the process hasn’t reached a conclusion and remains on hold, Hadley said.
“If the school community decides to go forward with a naming process, the HRCE has a policy for naming or renaming schools,” Hadley added.
The process, led by the school’s principal, requires a committee to consult with students and the public, before creating a report on the newly selected name for approval by the governing board.
