BOTHERED

I have to tell you, this whole renaming the Student Union thing has gotten under my skin.

I have been reading about it on the Plainsman.com and I was trying to understand why the SGA would vote down the resolution to extend James E. Foy's name to the new student union building. Right now, the building will be named after whomever ponies up $25 million to pay for it.

I see the point that the $25 million will help keep student activity fees down, that the university can really put that money to use and it will been "ear-marked" for student development and programs. But when I was at Auburn, our student activity fees (go toward maintaining student union, campus programs, student recreation center, etc.) were already close to if not the lowest in the SEC. So with inflation and all the growth on campus, I think those could stand to go up a little bit more. But of course, I'm not paying those fees, so I don't really know. And it's not like students were ever lacking in something to do, without $25 million to blow.

But here's what I do know - Foy is a man. Foy is a building. Foy is a phone number; but to reduce it to just one of those takes away from what Foy really means and embodies to most Auburn students. Which is why when I read that a student senator - who was a CWE Counselor, no less - called Dean Foy a "cute old man," I about spit out my coffee:

"We don't remember Foy or are respectful of Foy because of the man he is. Because to all of us, he's just, he's great I'm sure, but he's still the cute, old guy that says War Eagle at pep rallies. I'm not trying to take away anything from who he is, but we're all passionate about Foy because of the building, because it is where we spent our time, where we ate lunch, not because of who he is."

You know what? This makes me sad. I have an e-mail sitting in my draft box to this young woman. I'm trying to decide if it's too "cranky old alumna" to send. It's a nice e-mail, not mean or condescending, just explaining to her that her choice of words were really offensive to me as a member of the CWE family and hopefully all the rest of you that sat through Dr. C's slide show, learning from where everything from our orange and blue to War Eagle! to the seal and the creed originated.

I guess it's a full circle. She is passionate about the building because of the activities that it houses, where she spent time and ate lunch. Those activities are there, that building is there, because of Dean Foy. She and the other student senators may not recognize that, but lots of other people do.

I'm sure there'll be a solution worked out. The alumni are up in arms. Maybe some of the Auburn people that read this blog can help me/us understand both sides of this argument, or at least how this girl spent a summer in CWE and still manages to think of Dean Foy as not much more than a "cute old man." In the mean time, read a three-part series chronicling how he is so much more than that here here and here.

A proud alumna with some "cute old man"