Name change backlash

Bthe Australian state? The city in Canada? The waterfall in Zimbabwe?

To fix this, the university has decided, in principle, upon a ‘‘simplification’’ of its name. ‘‘Victoria’’ is to be expunged, leaving the name to be ‘‘the University of Wellington’’. Bloodless, but more lucrative, the thinking goes.

The decision has provoked a backlash on the part of alumni, most of whom were totally unaware of the pending decision. In fairness to the university, it had sought feedback through its e-newsletter and on forums such as Linkedin.

My wife, also an unimpressed Victoria grad, was not happy with this form of engagement. It reminded her of that scene from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy where the notification for the demolition of the hero’s house had been placed ‘‘on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard’ ’’. It’s hard to believe changing the name will make that much of a difference, though. And, as Dr Malcolm Wright, branding expert at the University of Palmerston North, Auckland and Wellington, aka Massey, points out, valuing a name is a bit of a guess at the best of times.

But one would hope the university has done at least some market research here.

This has got me thinking whether I should rebrand by changing our family name. We could go with any one of its several homophones. ‘‘Liam Hare’’ has a good look to it, I think.

I’m fairly confident the new name would result in more media work. Not as much as becoming Left-wing, and writing about how enchanting Jacinda Ardern is would help, of course.

But, no. For one thing, my grandmother would probably put a curse of me. For another, I like my name. Although it’s a little confusing for others, it’s part of my identity. I’m attached to it.

This is why the university can hardly be surprised to be facing a revolt. If it were being founded today, there is no way anybody would expect ‘‘Victoria’’ to be included in the name.

But it’s not being founded today and there is a large number of people with fond memories of their time there.

I’m one of them. I met my wife there. I made some of my most enduring friendships there. In important ways, I had the time of my life there. It’s only human to attach positive feelings to the things with which they are associated.

Buildings are a good example – and I would be pretty annoyed if they demolished the historic building housing the law school to build a state-ofthe-art glass box. Names are another example.

If ‘‘Vic’’ becomes ‘‘the University of Wellington’’ it may build up goodwill in the new name over time. It’s not assured, of course. What does seem certain, however, is that it will burn off some of the bonds of affection it already enjoys.