STOP THE NAME CHANGE OF THE SOUTHWEST PERFORMING ARTS THEATRE
To/Against/For: AGAINST
Target: Imperial Valley Residents
About Southwest High School Theatre:
Located in the heart of the Southwest High School campus, the Southwest Performing Arts Theatre has become a shining example of what it means for the best of the arts to blend with the best in technology. This state-of-the-art facility is designed to provide a wealth of diverse and enriching opportunities for both El Centro and the Imperial Valley.
In its home at the high school campus, the Theatre has featured world renowned performers alongside innovative programs melding art and technological elements. It has also served as a performing arts laboratory for bright SAVAPA students and a concert hall for the award winning Southwest Orchestras, Band, and Choirs, who are are constantly growing in numbers and continue to improve while studying for their chosen future careers. Although the Theatre is owned and operated by the Central Union High School District and located at S.H.S, it is also used by numerous school districts and community organizations for their own productions.
(Information obtained from the \"About Us\" section of the Southwest Performing Arts Theatre website. Last modified August 2008.)
The Southwest Performing Arts Theatre name is being threatened by community members who wish to rename the theatre in honor of the late Jimmie Cannon, a former teacher, mentor, and musician for many years in the Imperial Valley. This has caused many community members great discomfort. Though Southwest High School students, faculty, and staff have lost many loved ones through the years, not once did their loss call for a name change of the Theatre. The theatre\'s current name was created because of the theatre\'s role and purpose in the community and not just because of its location. It is a name everyone can embrace and a theatre everyone can use. Naming the theatre after someone who had a much greater effect on Central Union High School and the Valley Jazz has made the Southwest Theatre less of a home or laboratory for the students, several community organizations, and many residents of the Imperial Valley who love attending events at the Southwest Performing Arts Theatre.
Join us in our efforts to stop the name change of the Southwest Performing Arts Theatre. Also, help us to encourage The City of El Centro, the Central Union High School District, and Imperial Valley residents to preserve the Theatre\'s history and honor the late great Jimmie Cannon with a permanent memorial at the Theatre\'s rotunda entry.
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