COLUMN: We're not Penn State, but that's our secret

From Jeremy Reiss', "Vegas, Baby," Fall '00 From Jeremy Reiss', "Vegas, Baby," Fall '00We've all heard some variation of it: – "So where do you go to college?" – "Oh, so how do you like the Big Ten?" – [Insert awkward explanation here?] Indeed, because of the unintended similarity in names, nearly every Penn student ends up in conversations like the one above. Though in 1740, the founders of the University could hardly have envisioned the future creation of Pennsylvania State University, the Penn name has, for decades, been the source of confusion. While our counterparts at Harvard, Yale and Princeton have immediately recognizable names, for those less familiar with the Ivy League, mention of our school immediately conjures images of that large state school in central Pennsylvania. And unlike states like Michigan, where both the University of Michigan and Michigan State are well-known and easily distinguishable because their athletic teams are constantly in the public eye, Penn receives scant TV exposure compared to the football giant to our west. Furthermore, since Penn's academic prestige is hardly unique in the Ivies, the school doesn't get a whole lot of high-profile exposure relative to the Big Three. So, like many of you, I am often left to explain to the less well-informed that their mistake is tantamount to confusing Princeton with Rutgers. I do it tactfully, of course. But although students have often complained that the University should better market itself, emphasize the longer version of its name -- Pennsylvania, instead of Penn -- or even change its name altogether, there's actually very little that can be done to remedy what amounts to a historical glitch. I'll admit, I used to actually find it insulting when people confused the two schools. I even bought one of those horribly arrogant "Not Penn State" T-shirts when I was a freshman. Growing up, my family made it a priority to expose me to prestigious colleges. And so, ever since I got into Penn, it's been surprising and downright frustrating to see how many people have never heard of the school. Last semester, for instance, I got an e-mail from a gorgeous girl I worked with over the summer saying she was going to be in the area and asking if I'd be around campus. But lest I get too excited, I soon realized that she was actually visiting people four hours away at Penn State. And it's not just referring to the school as "Penn" that's the problem. Even when I deliberately say "University of Pennsylvania" to try to avoid confusion, I still sometimes get "Main campus?" as a reply. The fact of the matter is, though, that none of this is worth getting upset over. For unless a lay person is an avid sports fan who closely follows the NCAA Basketball Tournament, or knows someone at an Ivy League school, it's hard to expect them to have heard of Penn. Those that need to know and those who want to know -- reputable companies, graduate schools, our loved ones and those generally informed about our nation's higher education system -- are all familiar with Penn and the prestige the name carries. So what if a new friend from out-of-state needs a short explanation that, no, your school's football team did not play in the Rose Bowl? In the end, there isn't one privilege of having a Penn degree that any of us will be denied simply because a family friend or even a co-worker never knew there was an Ivy League school in Philadelphia. Princeton, as some of you might know, actually did change its name. Until about a century ago, it was called The College of New Jersey. Today, that change has obviously proved successful as the Princeton name carries with it recognizable prestige. But in this image-conscious era, if Penn were to change its name, there would be a learning curve for the general public. We'd probably all be retired by the time a name like Franklin University carried the same tradition, prestige and power as Penn. And since when do we follow Princeton, anyway? As over a billion dollars in construction transforms our campus into an amusement park, few things remain constant: No matter how good our basketball recruits get, the Quakers aren't leaving the Ivy League anytime soon. And though it may not sound original, the University of Pennsylvania name is here to stay. And I, for one, am going to stop complaining and embrace that. After all, as long as I can be proud of my University of Pennsylvania degree -- and successful because of it -- why should I mind being part of the best-kept secret in higher education? Besides, all my bitching about how prestigious Penn is only pisses off my buddy at Penn State. And he's heard enough.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.