Trustees to vote on new name for Oriental Studies

University Trustees will vote on the proposed name change for the Oriental Studies Department next week, and University officials said yesterday they are confident the new name will pass. At their next open meeting on January 24, the Trustees will vote on the department's proposal to change its name to Asian-Middle Eastern Studies. If approved, the change will be made official on July 1, 1992. The new name was suggested by a faculty vote last month after a year of Asian student protests that the term "oriental" is offensive to Asians. School of Arts and Sciences Dean Rosemary Stevens personally approved the name change this week. The Trustees meeting will be the final step of the process of officially changing the department's name. Stevens said yesterday that one reason a proposal for a new name took several months to reach this stage is because it is an extremely sensitive issue. "There's something about names," Stevens said. "They're most difficult to agree upon and change, as they have very intimate associations." Stevens said she is optimistic about the outcome of the Trustees' vote. "I think that we will have a new name this summer. . . I am pleased, and it's a perfectly fine name," Stevens said. And University Associate Secretary Duncan Van Dusen yesterday shared Stevens' optimism. "[The name change] has been discussed so much. . . I expect the vote will be a unanimous one [in favor of the change]," Van Dusen said. The meeting will be held at 2 p.m. in the Hoover Lounge of Vance Hall, and will be open to the University community.

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