From UNSW to UNSWe
On the 1st of April this year, University of New South Wales witness a proposal for change in the pronunciation of the university’s acronym UNSW. The newly appointed Deputy VC Corporate Culture, Mr Malcolm Crossman, announced that the UNSW officials insisted on the change that would be active soon thereafter.
Table of Contents
Why the Change?
He was quoted saying,
“Uni of New South Wales has six syllables. UNSW has six syllables. At a time when the Minister is asking institutions to be more efficient, we have not obtained enough efficiency from the abbreviation of our name.”
“We can do better. So, I am suggesting we change the pronunciation of the letter W from double U to align with other letters, like B, D and P, and pronounce our name as U-N-S-We, which has only four syllables.”
How is it Beneficial?
Proving it to be a well-thought of plan and ready-for-execution, Crossman listed the advantages of such a change in nomenclature. Firstly, he said that UNSWe would set the university name apart from the regular university acronyms. Next, he said that UNSWe blended extremely well with the University’s motto of ” ‘At UNSWe, we start with U and end with We’.” Then, he mentioned that UNSWe yellow strips had already been launched about five years ago, keeping the same in mind.
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Idea behind the Change?
On being asked about the idea of the change of name, Crossman said that it stemmed from marketing workshops, since,“At UNSWe everyone’s a marketing expert”.
He added that it had also been recommended by the top scholars of Quantum Computing, Climate Change and Photovoltaics.
Crossman’s Supporting Arguments for the Change
Crossman is of the belief that,“University nomenclature is seldom pronounced as it is written.”He gave examples of Oxford’s Magdelen College, that is pronounced as ‘Maudlin’, River Cherwell as Charwell and Aberystwyth University of Wales that is neither pronounced nor spelt correctly.
Following these examples, Crossman said,“We are really just catching up.”
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On facing the Flak for the Change in Nomenclature
Crossman’s announcement for change in the nomenclature of the university, received flak from students and critics alike. Critics insisted that the university officials focused on enhancing student performances and bringing out the best in all students, instead of focusing on name change and justifying the change.
The witty man in Crossman answered this as,
“If we waited for the grand challenges to be solved we’d never get anything done. And besides, Branding is a global challenge. Isn’t it the major issue facing most large international companies today and isn’t it what they are spending their resources on? Surely universities should do the same?”
When will the Change be Implemented?
The change of UNSW to UNSWe is supposed to be validated from April, this year on, despite the response received from students and critics.
But if you still haven’t got it? Read the vague reasons and especially the date for the announcement.The first day of the month of April.
Yes, this was an April Fools’ prank by the UNSW for its students. Surely, teachers and officials can put up a prank on their students, and actually an effective one.
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