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Show The naming game: call it like it is Exciting new trends are so spaced and few in number that they deserve all the publicity they can get. The more we are bombarded with phony, idiotic plans and ideas the more we need to emphasize the great ones. Just such a great idea was the subject of an article in a recent issue of the American Journal of Technological Innovation. In it, Dr. Talcot Mills of Yale University has produced a fascinating study of the American tradition of naming naming that is, of prominent public building and such. He traces the history of naming in the United States and why we name tilings the way we do. His conclusion: Americans are wedded to the idea that important buildings and places should be given quaint, interesting names. Dr. Mills claims that it all started when someone suggested that we call this country "America." He points out that the name, "The United States of America" is far more definitive and descriptive. Dr. Mills proposes that we make a concerted effort to give better names to our national places of interest and renown. We should follow the good examples that have been made in recent history. He is very pleased, for example, with the pattern that has developed in the naming of our institutions of higher education; The University of Wisconsin, the University of Washington, the University of Arizona, etc. These descriptive titles arc much more appropriate for universities, he says, than trite names like Yale. Purdue, Princeton and Villanova. Another way to clean up our technocratic system, notes Dr. Mills, is to replace common names witli the name of some famous dead person. The best examples in this area are the changing of Cape Canaveral and Idelwild International Airport to Cape Kennedy and Kennedy International Inter-national Airport. He is currently waging a campaign to stamp out the stubborn tendency for some people to call Hoover Dam in Nevada by its old name, Boulder Dam. Dr. Talcot Mills has been employed by the Department of Defense (a name he praises) as a special consultant for Vietnam operations. Some of his best creations were widely used in describing the recent invasion into Laos which he prefers to call "expansive protection" rather than invasion. Probably his best effort was the "flexible maneuver" phrase used to describe the frantic retreat of South Vietnamese troops from Laos. What is really exciting, though, is the exercise of thinking up new names for famous places. He suggests that the Pentagon be renamed as the CIHDD... the Central Intelligence Headquarters for the Department of Defense. Even public resorts could be renamed. Disneyland could be called the Center for Childhood Activity and Frivolity. Coney Island could be renamed to the Corporation for Systematic Enjoyment at Brooklyn. Carrying this trend into our own state of Utah, we can follow the lead of the University in naming'their new gym the University of Utah Sports and Special Events Center (UUSSEC.) It has such a nice ring to it. After all, it is a perfect example of Dr. Mills' technique of giving a place a "title of definition" instead of a name. Just think of the possibilities. We could call the Salt Palace the Salt Lake City Sports and Specical Events Center (SLCSSEC.) In fact, we could rename every gym and arena in the country after our new University gym. Why not? That's what they are, aren't they: Sports and special events centers! Dr. Mills' article concludes with the hope that someday everything will have a "title of definition" instead of a name. He wants to kickoff his campaign by changing the name of his own university. No longer will the name Yale be heard in campus circles. The Reginal Center for the Pursuit of Academic Disciplines. Get used to it. That's what it is, isn't it? |