John-Andrew Murphy wrote:
>I'm not sure about this whole argument concerning college names, but it
>seems to me that the distinctions are made according to the state's main
>campus, as was pointed out. In Indiana, the Hoosiers are at IU-Bloomington,
>a campus more well known simply as, "IU" or "Indiana". Other IU schools have
>athletics. They just call themselves "IU-South Bend", "IU-Terre Haute" or
>whatever. Granted, these schools don't compete at the same level of IU-
>Bloomington. But the principle is the same. SUNY offers something a bit
>different. Since there really isn't a central SUNY school, the schools are
>often referred to as "___ State", or "SUNY ___". Even Albany and Buffalo, two
>schools with DI football programs are commonly known as "Albany State" and
>"UB" respectively. The hoopla with Amherst and Lowell is interesting, but
>will ultimately be worked out. Why not be "Amherst State" or "Lowell State"?
>And I'm not sure making a distinction between the two is all that troublesome.
>Maybe I'm missing something here. But school pride appears to be the real
>subtext to this contraversy.
 
I think he has just about got it right.  My question:  what is the
difference between Michigan and Michigan State ?  (not a rhetorical
question, I would like to know).
 
As my question applies to the thread, here is my suggestion:
 
New name:  University of Massachusetts   old name:  same
New Name:  Mass. State / Lowell          old name:  UMass Lowell
           and the same for the rest
           of the present UMass system
           (e.g. UMass Dartmouth, etc.)
 
Now, if we want to get historical, think of my Amherst proposal above as
acknowledging its status as the state's only "land grant" institution
formed under the Moriill Act in the 1800's - forming agricultural schools.
(also known sometimes as A & T's and A & M's in other parts of the country)
That may be the answer to the Michigan question above, but I'm not sure.
It gives legitimacy to the legacy of the University back to its' roots (no
pun intended).
 
Now, to convince Pres. Billy Bulger of UMass to go back to his former
Senate chamber and adopt my proposal...
 
And Leigh, chill out on this, OK ?  At least you didn't have the term
"normal school" once linked with the name of YOUR campus.   And don't get
huffy about that reference, it was once the moniker used by colleges
providing teacher training, such as the now-Salem State.  I rather doubt
anybody today associates the word "normal" with the Amherst campus of the
University of Massachusetts.
 
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