Posted on 05/05/2005 4:57:02 AM PDT by hispanarepublicana
Cotton stripped from Tech seal BY ELLIOTT BLACKBURN AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Texas Tech may face a fight from cotton farming alumni after the school announced Wednesday it would pluck the symbolic tufts of the West Texas crop from the school seal.
The changes are part of a broader marketing campaign to be launched early next year that Tech officials hope will improve the university's national reputation.
Chancellor David Smith refuted rumors Wednesday that the school was abandoning its past for the marketing effort.
A-J File Photo
"It is not undoing tradition, it is not undoing pride," Smith said of the changes. "We need a platform to celebrate what Texas Tech is accomplishing as a system."
But Eddie Smith, chairman of the Plains Cotton Cooperative Association and a Tech alumnus who was honored as an outstanding agriculturist last year by the university, said the omission ignored the major contributions cotton made to Tech.
"There's a lot of us that are tied to this university that are not going to let it slide by," Smith said.
School and system officials announced the changes Wednesday in an effort to counter an anonymous e-mail and message board campaign rallying opposition to the revisions.
The Internet campaign sparked rumors of school officials abandoning the Double T trademark while retooling school marketing materials.
In a hastily organized news conference held in response to e-mails and phone calls from concerned alumni, school officials stressed that the beloved Double T logo stitched onto merchandise, emblazoned on the sides of buildings and printed in the letterhead of the press releases distributed Wednesday would not be retired.
"The Double T has an indefinite contract," said Craig Wells, senior associate athletics director. "It's going to be around forever and ever and ever."
But it will no longer represent the academic side of the university. A new seal was designed by an Austin firm as part of a broader marketing campaign that has a $450,000 budget this year. The seal will be featured on academic communications, Chancellor Smith said.
Texas Tech seal Designed in 1927 by campus master planner William Watkin. Formally adopted in 1953. The Saddle Tramps raised $24,750 in 1972 to fund the 37,500-pound granite seal at the main entrance of the campus. The monument will not be changed to reflect the new design, according to Chancellor David Smith.Source: Texas Tech Web site
The seal will replace the myriad symbols each college and program had developed and present a more uniform message, said Bill Dean, executive director of the Texas Tech Alumni Association.
"It's possible for someone to get four or five pieces of correspondence from different areas of Tech and they could all look different," Dean said. "So I think it's a step in the right direction to try and standardize this.
"As to whether they should change it or not," Dean said, "I think that's another question that probably needs to be revisited a little bit."
The modified seal must still be approved by the Tech Board of Regents, which will meet next week.
Cotton bolls that form a cross in the middle of the school shield and represent the 10 cotton-producing counties around Tech were removed from the new design. Instead, a more general "vine-like" image will represent all of agriculture.
A granite monument to the seal erected at the main entrance of the campus in 1972 would not be changed to reflect the new design, Chancellor Smith said.
Several administrators admitted that they did not realize that the round, somewhat crudely drawn shapes splitting the school shield symbolized cotton.
The new design has a clearer symbol of agriculture, and the chancellor said it reflects that Tech is no longer a regional university but a system with seven campuses.
"You've got to decide that you're going to play in that larger sandbox," Smith said.
The changes were not acceptable, alumnus Eddie Smith said.
"Vines are weeds in my cotton fields," Smith said. "I think it's a mistake, and I wish they would ask the people who've supported the university through the years."
Speculation on the changes scattered throughout Lubbock and cyberspace Wednesday. Several alumni were baffled that the changes would be made with little public input.
"Change is inevitable," said Don Harris, a Lubbock appraiser and Tech alumnus. "On the other hand, if it isn't broken, why fix it?"
W.B. "Dub" Rushing, a long-time Tech contributor, said he had no problems with the changes as long as they were for a positive reason.
The school has weathered strong reactions to other changes, such as a proposal to call the school Texas Tech and the recent revisions on the Double T logo, he said. But administrators should be careful about change for change's sake, he said.
"I don't see anything wrong with the present seal," Rushing said. "If it would only make the alumni mad, and that's where their gifts come from - all you have to do is kill off a dozen people and that could be $12 million."
More Tech faithful, including cotton farmers, would warm to the new design once they understood why the changes were being made, Chancellor Smith said.
The outcry Wednesday showed that people cared about the university, but the controversy was overblown, he said.
"A lot of people had a lot of extra time today," Smith said. "It was kind of ridiculous." OLD:
NEW:
To comment on this story:
elliott.blackburn@lubbockonline.com 766-8722
brian.williams@lubbockonline.com t 766-8717
I guess he had an offer from the UofWisconsin (which tells you something), but it didn't pan out. The regents need to feel the heat on this, too, since they love Smith almost as much as he loves himself.
Still looking for regent contact info, but FWIW >>>
http://www.texastech.edu/System/BOR/index.html
These folks were so happy to get rid of it that they erected a statue to the insect that destroyed their crops. Most quit cotton and converted to peanuts and, many got wealthy as a consequence. Previously most were just struggling by with their cotton crops. BTW, Alabama is 73% forested...we don't have that much cotton/agriculture regardless of the impression
(Cotton)Boll Weevil Monument
When you meet someone in a West Texas town, one of the first questions asked is "what Church do you go to?" - this isn't considered a nosy or rude question, it helps define who you are in an area that believes God is part of your daily life.
Lubbock is not going to accept the changes to this Seal if they learn that it is to remove the "Cross" - I hope the Churches get involved in this fight
My son is currently attending TT. I wonder if the students are even aware of the change....THEY AIN'T GONNA LIKE IT! Lubbock is a very VERY conservative town...let's see what happens!
My daughter is there too - I emailed the info to her and she is spreading it - she had NO idea prior to me telling her.
I'm hearing through the rumor mill that the TTU alumni association's phone system broke down last night.
We have the same liberal chancellor/fruitier wife syndrome here in Nashville at Vandy.
Question?:
If these chancellor's can't wear the britches in their own families then how are they going to manage huge Universities?
Gordon Gee at Vandy makes about 800K or so a year I think.
Pleae add this ol' TTU student to the list.
I'll do the same! This week has been crazy for him because of finals, so the LIB rat dean picked the right week to change the seal...the rats are cunning and bastards!
Plus the kids will be gone within days.......... rat bastid is right!
Hilarious!
"- this is a town of 200,000 people. They do not sell liquor within the county -"
You are correct about the attitude of this town. Aside from the church density, this town still makes a lot of money from cotton and many alumni are in the business of growing, processing, and selling cotton. Most of the students are proud of the University's traditions. Also, most students wish Smith would leave. As it is, he may become unemployed as a result of some questions regarding his funneling of money to the TTU Med school and hospital; money that was tagged for TTU departments other than the med school.
We cannot have package stores in the city limits, but you can buy liquor by the drink. The county is a different matter. You can tell where the city limits end because that is when you see liquor stores (e.g. "The Strip").
I would be the first to buy one! The students are sick of Smith behaving, well, like a friggin' liberal! He has done almost nothing to increase revenues for the school. Chancellor Montford did a fine job of schmoozing alumni, getting corporate sponsrship, and enhancing the university. Smith has done a fine job of collecting a paycheck and p*ssing-off the students.
I probably spent more time at the Strip (pinkies was my choice) than you have.........;^)
That is not a rumour. He sprung that one when the board of regents were reviewing his contract. They panicked and were worried that this "gem" would split; shortly thereafter, they renewed his contract. The students were hoping that he would bloody well split. Chancellor Smith is a waste of space.
>>When schools like Tech and A&M<<
I wish you wouldn't compare tech to A&M. The only things they have in common are they are both in Texas, and they are both in the Big 12 athletic conference. That's about it.
tech is a pretty lousy (undergraduate) school who's students and fans are about as classless as it gets -- all in an attempt to create some sort of name for a school that few really know or care about.
Your child is a freshman at TTU. Well, either I, or one of my colleagues have worked as a TA in her history classes.
About this issue, the students want Smith to leave, but the Board of Regents appears deaf to our wishes. Why doesn't he work to increase revenues and continue Montford's work? He is truly living in the land of Blissful Stupidity if he thinks that removing the cotton boll image will cause cash to magically appear. We need to ditch this twit.
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