the.blog @scwleung

Oh…where to even begin with this silly issue that isn’t a simple regurgitation of what’s already been stated. For those of you who don’t already have a good grasp of the situation, I’d refer you to here and here [courtesy of ink_13], as well as here [courtesy of UW's Daily Bulletin]. Also, I’m sure you’ll find plenty of discussion across Twitter, Facebook and pretty much where students and alumni hang out.

While most of the talk out there is negatively slanted against the new logo, I have to admit that I’m actually quite ambivalent [leaning towards not dislike] about the new logo. As my esteemed colleague Mr. Felix stated on Facebook [I] didn’t give a flying fuck about the logo when [I] was a student. so why would i give a fucking shit about it now. holy shit, this is completely stupid. In many ways, I agree with the sentiment. Venting on Facebook or LiveJournal, or wherever will not change the logo. I certainly think that students, staff and alumni all should have a say in this, and I will defend your right to say it [as our good friend Voltaire stated]. However, I am concerned with many of the arguments that are being put forward. While I don’t wish to dig too deeply into each and every one of them, I do want to address a small number.

On Re-Branding
There’s a lot of arguments that the new logo is ‘non-traditional’ or that moving away from the classic crest is a huge problem. I respect those arguments. After all, every other school is deeply rooted in tradition and have their own crests representing its core values and traditions. There are two major points I wish to say against this. Firstly, Waterloo has been pushing towards a branding that separates itself from other schools – one that focuses on innovation and standing out from the rest of the pack as a leader. A part of leadership involves blue-sky thinking, taking leaps of faith, and shunning tradition at times. I applaud UW in trying something new and different. Secondly, how many of us UW students and alumni actually understand the core values and traditions of UW based upon the crest-logo? How many of us even know what UW’s slogan translates to in English? Hell. How many of us even know UW’s slogan?

While I can’t say much about the style and artistry of the new logo, I believe it does a good job in representing what UW is today. It is also a symbol that is much easier to interpret for all.

On Marketing and the University-Corporation
The re-branding initiative has brought about a side-argument that the UW administration is running the school more as a corporation than an academic institution. Furthermore, that this shift in direction is a bad thing, and that it hinders academic research and innovation. I will admit that this can happen. However, it’s also important to realize that even a University requires money to operate, and funding is limited. Universities need to efficiently use its funds to deliver a high quality education and to conduct research that will see through to a conclusion. A university should be able to cut funding from a professor if he or she is not able to both teach effectively and conduct world class research. Is it little wonder that many universities require research grants from industry? Yes, there are plenty of arguments that universities shouldn’t be tainted by industry, but let’s not kid ourselves – accepting money from the government can be just as bad and just as biased. By running the university as efficiently [and I guess corporately] as possible, the university would be better able to have its own say about the overall agenda.

I guess this little piece took a bit wider turn than necessary. However, I just needed to get it off my chest. It is stupid and ridiculous how much we stick by what’s already there, rather than trying something new. Automatically rejecting something new and unknown is probably the worse thing that we can do for our society and culture. I think we need to be more objective and analytical about change. Why don’t we let the new logo sit with us a bit more – maybe we’ll all find something we like about it.

I’ll leave comments open. I’ll try to approve messages that aren’t childish or made in bad taste, but don’t expect me to respond. I’ve made my peace with the issue.

Thanks for reading!