Renaming Landmarks

By Gwen Carroll April 2, 2025

As the presidency changes hands, it is more important than ever to remember the importance of government efficiency. With the nation $36.22 trillion deep in debt and only sinking further, it only makes sense that one of Donald Trump’s first actions as President of the United States should be the critical order to rename the Gulf of Mexico into the Gulf of America.

Of course, this is satire. Renaming landmarks is far from top priority when it comes to government efficiency, something Trump has recently made himself very concerned over as marked by the creation of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency). While unverified, DOGE claimed to have saved the U.S. government $105 billion at the start of March, though just a week prior, this number sat at $65 billion, ABC News reports. The outlet goes on to state that the lack of transparent documentation from DOGE makes it difficult to pinpoint exactly how much money the department has saved. Nonetheless, it is clear that Trump has made budgetary efficiency a priority—yet insists on starting a multimillion dollar project to make some cosmetic tweaks to the world map.

“To change the name of the Gulf of Mexico into the Gulf of America is a ridiculous idea. While Trump can do whatever he wants with how America refers to global landmarks, he cannot force the rest of the world to follow his ideas and is simply wasting money,” Sophomore Nikhil Gadiyar said.

A name change seems like one of the cheapest orders to be carried out, but U.S. News claims it is the exact opposite. In 2021, nine Army installations bearing the names of Confederates were renamed, costing a pricey $62.5 million, although this number may have been higher—the Army reports that it spent approximately $18 million more on the project than anticipated. Ironically, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum to restore one of the installation’s names, Fort Bragg, as it had been changed to Fort Liberty as part of this project. Do not be fooled, though: the memorandum stated that the new and improved Fort Bragg is not to honor Confederate general and slave owner Braxton Bragg, but rather paratrooper Roland Bragg, who was awarded the Silver Star and later the namesake. Knowing this, the fact that a quick inspection of a list of federal forts reveals no obvious installations named for other Silver Star recipients can be safely ignored.

The public has often mocked Trump’s hefty Gulf of America expenditure, and rightfully so. Names hold cultural and societal significance—take, for instance, the 600+ geographical features that once contained “squaw” in the name, despite the term being a derogatory term for indigenous women, as per Smithsonian Magazine. A secretarial order to remove the phrase from the map was first introduced by Deb Haaland, previous Secretary of the Interior and the first Native American to hold the title, in 2021. While the response to this project has been largely supportive, some think the money it takes to rename so many landmarks could be better used elsewhere.

“While living on land with a derogatory term in its name can be detrimental to the mental health of Native Americans, it is extremely expensive to make these changes. Instead, I would like to see the government put this money into financial aid for Native Americans. Being able to afford food and housing is a much more pressing issue,” Senior Dominic Vu said.

Name changes come with nuance, as the price tag can often outweigh whatever benefits could come from seeing “Gulf of America” on a map that once read “Gulf of Mexico.” However, this does not mean that all name changes are superficial, as they can also represent a step towards acceptance. When it comes to renaming landmarks, it is most important to consider where the money is going: towards respecting various cultures or into the already overinflated ego of a power-drunk president.

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About the Contributors

Gwen Carroll

Writer

gwen carroll is the page editor for community news and last word. it is her third year in journalism. she likes playing rhythm games and taking naps when it's warm out.