Today, my undergraduate university, Roosevelt Academy, posted an announcement on facebook about a change to be revealed on 5 February. Initially, this change was supposed to have been revealed on 23 January, but, as it was explained to me (I whinged about it, obviously, unable to contain my curiosity), as 23 January was Dies Natalis, the start of Spring IntRAweek and the professorial inauguration of one of my old instructors.
In any case, the change should not be THAT surprising - it'll probably be a name change. After all, last year the students were polled on a new logo AND a new name, and there have been rumours of a change to the website going round for YEARS now (I became an Ambassador in November 2009, and I think I first heard of a new website design in March 2010 - it is now February 2013 and the new website is still not up and running).
Question about the poll though: why the charade of democratic decision by the students if the poll on the new name never had a majority of votes for 'UCR'? Then just don't put up a charade and instead change everything without polling, like a proper tyrant. Now it just reeks of bad politics.
All university colleges in the Netherlands have a name that is some sort of variation on the xUCx theme - UC Utrecht, UC Maastricht, Amsterdam UC, Leiden UC, and coming September Rotterdam will see the opening of Erasmus UC. I think there are some more opening too.
Roosevelt Academy was always the odd one out.
Speculations have been going on whether it would be UCRA then, University College Roosevelt Academy. I've seen people actually using that acronym in official correspondence.
It seems not the case. Why not?
www.ucra.nl is unclaimed.
www.ucr.nl redirects to www.roac.nl.
I understand the need for RA to be similar to the other UCs, it's just easier to represent all UCs that way which would be a tremendous advantage if the Minister for Education ever decides to actually do something about the deplorable state of Dutch HE. It's probably also easier marketing wise.
Furthermore, after having struggled (and emerged, of course - it's still a Zeeuwse institution) for years with people thinking it was an HBO, I'm sure RA wouldn't like for Brits to think it's a secondary school.
Choosing UCR over UCRA is also understandable, because having 'University College' and 'Academy' in one name is just a pleonasm.
But I would hate it if UCR is indeed the new name.
For one, it makes all RA puns obsolete. Where's the fun in saying something is totally cRAzy and RAndom when RA itself no longer has any meaning?
Where would it leave the photographic facebook thing - 'RA' combinations are easily spotted and photographed, but UCR - no.
And I really liked RA being the odd one out among all the new UCs. RA should always be the odd one out, it's the only way to maintain the bubble.
Besides, think of it - University College Roosevelt. It just doesn't sound right (but thank god they haven't coined Roosevelt University College, imagine the jokes among secondary schoolers - "nee, daar ga ik niet heen, dat is ruc!"). UCR itself is just too short - it feels like there's something missing. There is. An A. Can we really let that happen, people taking the 'A' out of RA? Can we, RA alumni and students, let them steal our A like that?
I am not a classicist (everyone knows I much prefer the Egyptians over the Romans and Greeks). I am very much not a fan of Plato (mainly because the concept of 'philosopher-kings' makes philosophy students arrogant, and because I don't believe in capital t Truth - more on that some other time).
But you can't just take my Academy away from me.
Sure, RA doesn't have a very long history, but the 9 year history that it does have, is brilliant. And there is always the link to the past - the mother uni, Utrecht University, is one of the oldest and best in the Netherlands. UCU, the older sister, is the oldest University College in the Netherlands. RA was established by the man whose undertaking inspired all other Dutch UCs.
Willem van Oranje wanted to found a university in Middelburg back in the 1500s (he chose Leiden instead). The main building dates back to the heyday of the Dutch East India Company.
And, why I referred to Plato - his Athenian school was called the Akademia (I'm a much bigger fan of Aristotle, but any reference to the Lykeion would make any Dutch person definitely think it's a secondary school). I want to spend a significant part of my life in academia, and now they're taking my A, my Academy away from the place that inspired me to actually consider academia? It's just - wrong.
So let's hope I'm wrong. I loved RA, love RA and always will love RA - Let's hope the UCR link is just a decoy, and that the change is something much more awesome.
But please don't take my A.
UPDATE:
They have taken our A.
It's official; it's now UCR.
It's a bloody shame really, also because the new website is somehow now PINK. I like everything but the colours.
Listen, RA folks responsible for the change (you know that I know who you are - and I refuse to call it UCR), the website is nice, the logo is nice, but UCR? AND PINK?
As if a PINK website is going to do anything to correct the awfully skewed gender ratio... and would RA really like to have the same colour as notorious Dutch HE failure InHolland? I'd hope not.
Not only have they stolen OUR A, they have now also stolen the beautiful RA red that the website used to have, and the owl.
Why, I think there's now only one more thing left at RA that's also one of my favourite things (wine red and owls happen to be my favourite colour and animal respectively) but I'm sure they're now ready to take that away too.
UC Roosevelt.
Pink.
Bloody shameless self-promotion.
There goes the one HE institution that actually required a sense of adventure, independence and perseverance to discover and survive - it's begun to identify itself with the rest of the homogeneous masses. There goes whatever shred of individuality RA had left.
There goes ouR A.
UPDATE 2: I've just been reassured the website should not be pink, but bright red. It might just then be Google Chrome.
Very happy about that, that's one thing at least.
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