Ok, well I think that it's all good! UMO, Maine, UMaine, The University of Maine, etc. One thing is certain and that is you just can't always use just Maine because sometimes it wouldn't be clear if you were talking about the University or the state. When I went to Maine in the 60's I lived in the cabins and we called it UMO sometimes and sometimes Maine and sometimes just "school" depending on the situation. My daughter who is there now usually says UMaine, my son, also there, usually says Maine. I personally like just plain Maine when it will be understood to be the University.

Oh, and my room-mate often called it Mecca, to distinguish it from the other (lesser) campuses of the Maine system ;-)

Also, a friend of mine who also went to Maine calls it U M Zero (lovingly) as a joke on the UMO name ;-)

-----Original Message-----
From: Aaron Hermes [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2003 4:29 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Official Maine colors

In a message dated 11/4/2003 4:11:19 PM Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes:

If we can call The United States of America "USA", why can't we call
Maine "UMO"?

Well...  We could...  But there's no O.  It's just the University of Maine.  The "Orono" specification has been dropped (except in the mailing address...).  True, it's still *in* Orono, but that's not part of the name....  It'd be the equivalent of calling UVA "UVAC" (C for "Charlottesville").  Nope.  It's just "Virginia" or "UVA".

I am with you, though, in wishing that there were some 3-letter acronym that fit, as they tend to make for more convenient cheers (UVM (why not UVT?  I know, "verts monts" or something similar), UVA, etc).  Should Maine be UME, incorporating the postal abbreviation for the state?

But "Let's Go Maine" fits the three syllable test, and, as such, works just fine for me...

aaron