Courtesy of Carrie O’Brion
By Crow’s Nest Staff
We’ve been assembling our “nest” of semicolons and headlines on this campus for 50 years. In fact, it’s a milestone we just celebrated in October.
So we were dismayed when the university announced last week that it would name its new dining hall “The Nest”.
While our newspaper’s name does not have avian origins — it actually refers to the lookout platform high on the mast of a ship — we do refer to ourselves as “The Nest” in conversation. Faster to pronounce and, until this point, easily recognizable, it has become our own unofficial colloquialism over the years.
Now, how will future and prospective students know the difference between their new dining hall and their decades-old newspaper situated in the Student Life Center?
Although students had some say in the new naming concepts for the dorms, the ultimate decision was left to Regional Chancellor Martin Tadlock and his administrative cabinet, who sought input from the marketing and communications department, housing and residence life and student affairs.
But if students are shelling out thousands of dollars a semester to live on campus, shouldn’t they have more of a say in what their buildings are called?
After all, the university does not hesitate to seek student feedback on other issues.
Every semester, we review our courses and professors through course evaluations. We are bombarded with emails on a seemingly regular basis, inquiring about our “digital learning” experiences, academic advising experiences or course registration experiences. Just last week, USF system President Steve Currall sent out a three-question “Principles of Community” survey.
Why wasn’t this same effort made to publicize the naming process for the new dorms? And how many students even participated in the RHA survey last spring? Was the turnout as dismal as Student Government elections, which garnered only 223 votes last semester?
While we consider it unnecessary to revisit the bird theme as a whole, it would be counterproductive to call attention to the problem without offering solutions.
As a staff, we propose the following alternatives:
- Emily Wunderlich, editor-in-chief: The Canopy
- Dylan Hart, managing editor: The Sanctuary? The Stoop? The Shore? The Microplastic-Polluted Sea?
- Katlynn Mullins, online editor: The Roost, defined as a “support on which birds rest,” ties into a place that students can go relax, eat and enjoy each other’s company.
- James Bennett III, news editor: The cafeteria. Don’t overthink it.
- Carrie Pinkard, arts and life editor: The Sand Bar. We already have The Reef, and a sandbar is another nautical hangout.
- Jonah Hinebaugh, features and opinions editor: The Gullett or Wagyu Beef Lightly Seared Medium Rare Eatery
- Savannah Carr, staff reporter: The Perch. When birds hang out places, they “perch,” like students hanging in the dining hall.
- MK Brittain, creative director: The Flock! Because we all travel to eat, come and go, and “feed.”
- Thomas Iacobucci, photography editor: The Coop… like a chicken coop… because of birds and stuff… you get it…. OR…. The Nelson Poynter Memorial Library (might be confusing for obvious reasons)
- Brianna Rodriguez, marketing manager: I second The Canopy. It offers an alternative solution without using The Crow’s Nest’s recognizable title.
Since the dorms won’t be completed until July, we feel there is still plenty of time to address the dining hall’s ambiguous name.
Also, are we not going to draw attention to the fact that our university mascot is a Bull?
This is some BULL that the university needs to sit and “nest” on.
In the future, we implore the university to be more proactive in gathering student feedback on issues that are so central to their campus life.
