McGill clubs may soon be undergoing name changes due to administrative concerns over the use of the 'McGill' name, and in order to eliminate confusion between student-run and administration-run organizations.
Students' Society Vice-President Clubs and Services Marcelle Kosman asserted that this could be part of a larger plan to clear up the university's image among media and potential investors.
"Because of the capital campaign, McGill is hypersensitive about their image in the media," she said.
Kosman believes that the university is especially concerned about services such as Walksafe, which are provided by student organizations and not by the university.
Deputy Provost Student Life and Learning Morton Mendelson asserted that it is in the university's best interests to protect what they own, namely, the crest, name, wordmark and insignia.
"It is very important to the university and to students that the value of that name and of the visual are protected," Mendelson said. "There have to be constraints put on the kinds of groups that would be able to present themselves with the McGill name."
In order for this change to take place, the administration and SSMU would have to renegotiate the Memorandum of Agreement, a written contract concerning everything from building regulations to current policies regarding clubs.
"This isn't something McGill can do without SSMU's participation," Kosman said. "It's going to be a process, and I think a long process, but I refuse to be the VP Clubs and Services that loses the right of McGill clubs to use their names."
The university plans to establish a three year re-negotiable agreement with each club or service with the McGill name, giving them official recognition and approval to use 'McGill,' though any new student club or service that wants to include the school name in their own would also be required to include "students at" or "chapter," in order to separate them from the school itself. Kosman illustrated this new practice with the example "Students Walksafe at McGill," as a sample of a potential future club name. Mendelson insisted that this policy is still in its review stages, and that there has yet to be a "clamp-down" on clubs to force a name change.
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D. B. O'Connor
posted 10/16/07 @ 10:46 AM EST
As a former McGill parent I receive your newsletter. I am from Cambridge, MA in the US. It is an interesting issue for universities. About 30 years ago one of our local schools worked with a startup Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) to provide managed care for employees. (Continued…)
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