Rosella Melanson: A fitting name for an Acadian institution

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It’s one of those issues where the debate goes, “Let’s do it already.” “No, it’s not that important.” “Then just do it and be done with it.”

It seems the recent movement to change the name of Université de Moncton – the twelfth time this has been proposed since the university’s establishment 60 years ago – is not going away.

Last week, on the first anniversary of the creation of a citizens committee for a change of name, the committee launched a slew of video testimonials by both known and unknown Acadians giving their reason for a change of name.

Denis Losier, former government minister and president of Assomption Vie, recorded the first video released. He denounces the university’s unwillingness to discuss this issue further. Several dozen other videos are in queue. The few released so far show the breadth of support: Grade 8 student Frédérique Paulin, Moncton city councillor Paulette Thériault, Jean-Claude Savoie of Groupe Savoie, and filmmaker Phil Comeau.

The testimonials and the discussion on social media have been sparkling.

It seems the problem is not Moncton, the city that hosts one of the three campuses. It’s not even so much about Monckton, that war criminal Viscount who burned his way up the Saint John River.

It’s that people feel that a university that is practically the Main Street of modern Acadie should have a name reflecting that. Why settle when it comes to your name?

Last December, the university’s board of governors, faced with a petition in support of a change of name, chose to stick with the status quo. No reasons were given and no further consultation was promised.

I recently joined that citizens committee. Because the status quo is a problem. Compared with the other issues faced by the university, a change of name is not urgent. But it is important. The name was a compromise 60 years ago and it still does not sit right with many of the supporters of the beloved university.

Rosella Melanson is a writer based in Fredericton