Posted on 05/25/2004 4:46:06 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
SEWANEE - "Sewanee" and "The University of the South" are used sometimes separately to describe the highly ranked liberal arts institution atop Sewanee Mountain, but how those words will be used in the future has led to opposition.
The university's Board of Regents has endorsed a plan to label the 147-old institution as "Sewanee: The University of the South."
Early versions of the 60-page marketing plan refer to the South's negative image and "troubled history of race relations," but those who have called for the name change say they merely want consistency to continue attracting a strong student body.
Joe Romano, the university's communications director, and David Lesesne, dean of admissions, told The Sunday News that the main goal from the marketing plan is to have prospective students be able to more easily access information about the university.
Lesesne said sometimes the school is referred to as "Sewanee," "University of the South," or "The University of the South."
When searching the Internet or looking for information elsewhere about the school, prospective students often aren't able to get all the information they would be able to access with a standardized name, he said.
Lesesne said changing the name to "Sewanee: The University of the South" should solve some of those problems.
"We think it will make a difference," he said. "If we can allow people who don't know about us to find information about us more easily, they are more likely to find us - they are more likely to know about us."
He said regardless of the name change, "we're still The University of the South."
Romano said the Board of Regents called for the study at a time when the economy was struggling more and interest by prospective students had declined. He added that the study was geared to provide input on what might make the school more attractive to out-of-state students who know little about the university.
Romano said an average 17-year-old requesting information about the school might not initially understand its traditions, such as a formal dress code where men wear ties and women wear dresses - not the norm at most colleges.
However, he said once they are able to see how the tradition creates a unique learning atmosphere, they most openly accept the university's unique standards and embrace them.
Despite the seemingly simple reasons for wanting the name change, opposition has brewed because the plan, drafted by the Boston-based firm Maguire and Associates and Lipman Hearne Inc. of Chicago, had listed negative historical connections to the South as a region.
It mentions "history of troubled history of race relations" and the research has revealed the "South can often raise negative associations before it sparks positive ones, so the weaker the connection with the university's name, the better."
John Evans, a 1984 graduate and former university trustee, has been active in airing his concerns about the name change.
The plan refers to "Rebel's Rest" and stained-glass windows commemorating university students who were active in the Civil War.
Evans was quoted in a Nashville newspaper saying identifying such landmarks as having potential negative connotations, could lead to their removal - something he strongly opposes.
"When I saw language that clearly identified specific parts of the university as being problematic, I know all it would take would be a little encouragement or moral fortitude to continue the removal of things that are part of the university's history," he said.
Lesesne said some of the concern may have been sparked by a move at Vanderbilt University two years ago to have the "Confederate" removed from "Confederate Memorial Hall" amid opposition from minority groups.
Lesesne described the attempt to change The University of the South's name as a "subtle shift" as "a way to be able to communicate with our students better."
Yeah,
University of Political Correctness would be in keeping with what the University teaches already anyway....
Yea, Sewanee WAS Right!!!...rto C'60
Well, phooey on them - a place for kids who don't have the grades to get into Vanderbilt!
It's such a beautiful school, though, and in the most scenic location. I sometimes wish I could go back to college and really enjoy it, now that I'm over Adolescent Angst and know what's out in the Real World!
wonder what search engine he's using? If one google's university of the south and clicks "feeling lucky" up pops Sewanee...rto
Didn't the Educrats tell us that kids can't waste time learning to multiply anymore, because they have to be learning to use the Internet? And the kids still can't do a simple search to find a university?
Then they've probably got the grades to get into Sewanee ...
it WAS a tradition, now it's an optional dress code, very misleading statement, and speaking of traditions there is no longer a chapel requirement ...rto
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