What's in a Name?

"the power, impact and implications of 'naming.'"

Put down the Foucault and step away from the stupid. A name change is a stupid waste of resources.

I am all on board with this process!!! I like the name "The Rainbow Center"!!! YAY!!! LOL!!!

why is it a waste of resources? it only takes a group of people sitting down and talking to come up with a better, more inclusive name that will hopefully help to make everyone feel more welcome in the office.

I applaud both the intention and the process. I think it is a challenge, for sure, to recognize and respect the needs and wishes of such a wide-ranging constituency, and I wish you luck in the search for a good solution. I think one of the unmentioned challenges is addressing the different experiences and sensibilities of the many generations represented throughout the staff and student bodies. I personally would favor a one to three word identifier, perhaps drawing on our cultural symbols (e.g. rainbow), but preferably not reclaiming language created to denigrate us (e.g. queer). Thanks for your good work!

I really don't think that the office should change it's name. I know that for me and a lot of my friends, the name change would only be "for show" and not for any meaningful reason; furthermore I can't see us calling it anything but the lgbt office (or the office for short) because for us that's what it is for us. I realize how important it is for people to feel included, but i have a hard time believing that anybody genuinely feels out of place in the office. It's not a waste of time discussing how to make people feel comfortable, but i do think that it's pointless to go through the hassle of changing the name in the first place.