The importance of a name

The game is intense. The Washington Redskins are engaged in another epic battle on the football field. Little time remains and the team needs a score to win the game and keep playoff hopes alive. Quarterback Mark Brunell gets the ball, drops back for a pass, and static engulfs the television picture. A housemate has foiled another crucial moment in television viewing with interference from the kitchen blender. This, of course, would be no problem if I could afford cable.

It is for this reason that I envy the newly minted DISH, Texas, and their free satellite television. Last month, Clark, Tex., permanently renamed their town "DISH" in exchange for ten years of free satellite television service for every home. In other words, every minute of every television show imaginable will come in crystal clear in DISH, Tex.

The possibilities of such a deal are endless. Instead of paying for what one needs, a person or group merely needs to sell their naming rights. While I realize EMU has already invested a great deal of time and money in "prioritizing," I propose an alternate solution using the power of a name. Imagine researching for a paper in the Mennonite Mutual Aid-Sadie A. Hartzler Library, spending a semester in the Caribbean with the Menno Travel Service Cross Cultural Program, and discussing that recent tuition cut over a cup of coffee from Mennonite Financial Federal Credit Union's Common Grounds.

If Shakespeare is correct that "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet," then EMU's problems are solved. Corporations give EMU the money it needs, and EMU gives up trivial names while retaining its core identity. Unfortunately for EMU's endowment, names are much more than simple words. There is power in a name.

Consider the name "Mennonite." To those familiar to the denomination's history, the name describes the history of Mennonites as followers of Menno Simons. To members of the denomination, it is a personal identifier. To anyone unfamiliar with modern Mennonites, the name is cause for great confusion and speculation.

EMU is the only North American Mennonite university with "Mennonite" in its name. While I do not pretend that the other universities are less committed to upholding Mennonite ideals, EMU places itself in the both tough and rewarding situation of taking on a name that means many things to many people. We can take pride in a name that draws on centuries of history, but we are also judged by this same history. Sadly, it is often a misunderstood history.

This last point is glaringly obvious to anyone who has discussed their college choice with people unfamiliar with the Mennonite faith. The name "Eastern Mennonite University" brings an inquisitive face and a plethora of possible assumptions. Our name becomes a stereotype to overcome.

We are not alone in facing the power of a name. I offer the example of the name of my favorite football team, the Washington Redskins. While I admire the team for its legacy, its name unjustly perpetuates the stereotype of Native Americans as savages. I doubt any member of the team means to offend an entire ethnic group, but through the power of a name that is exactly what happens.

Where the town of DISH, Tex., gives its name little importance, EMU must take its name seriously. Where the Washington Redskins have no validity to their name, our claim to our name must be validated by our action in accepting and shaping the Mennonite faith. Our name is strength from the church. Our name is power to shape the church. As we readdress our priorities as a community, we must stay true to our name.