From Staff reports
A motto is defined by Merriam–Webster.com as “a short expression of a guiding principle.”
In terms of a university, a motto should define the institution and its principles, merits and scholarship, the ideals to which it strives to instill unto its students and to which its students want to (or should want to) adhere.
The motto should embody the university in one phrase, letting any who reads it know what the university is essentially about.
Examples of university mottos (in English, translated from Latin) listed on the Internet included:
“Not To Know is Not Enough.” – Hampshire College, Amherst, Mass.
“By Teaching, We Learn.” – Johnson State College, Johnson, Vt.
“Today Decides Tomorrow.” – California State University, Chico, Calif.
Each was chosen from a lengthy list on Wikipedia.com (and verified on each school’s website) based on its inspirational message, a personal opinion of this author.
A strong motto might even be the deciding factor between a cursory glance at an institution’s website or further investigation into a school.
Let’s face it. There are a multitude of colleges and universities in the nation, so what becomes a deciding factor when choosing a particular school to attend?
True, the largest deciding factors will always include cost, location, programs and/or availability, prestige and/or athletic prowess. But after that, what is there to set one university apart from another?
After many phone calls to various offices across campus, an official SE university motto could not be determined. According to Director of Public Information Alan Burton, at various times different slogans have been used however none were officially adopted for the university as a whole.
However, a couple of nicknames for the university were mentioned.
The “Campus of 1,000 Magnolias” is synonymous with SE, and it is often referenced as such. Less referenced, at least most recently, is the “School of the Rising Sun,” which is a logo that still graces at least one known university flag.
A campus nickname does not instill a guiding principle for the university to be known by, though.
The undergraduate and graduate catalog does mention the phrase, “Where your story begins!” After a little digging on the se.edu site, this phrasing came up in many different searches. Is this our motto?
“I am SE!” was originally thought to be a possible representative phrase by one office assistant contacted, but further investigation on se.edu, revealed that “I Am SE” is an ongoing project to beautify the SE campus, with noticeable efforts to improve and maintain the gazebo and the ornamental flowerbed, among other clean-up activities (which is great, by the way).
Additionally, the SE Teacher Education Program motto, displayed prominently on program materials and in the Morrison Building, is “Professionals for the 21st Century: Competent, Committed and Ethical.” (A powerful phrase representing a worthy SE program.)
As a university, can we come to a consensus on a “guiding principle” and make it official? Or, is it better to continue with each program adopting a phrase of representation, such as the case with the Teacher Education Program?
If the campus chose to adopt a university-wide motto, “Where your story begins!” is a worthy option, as it implies that SE is where your career, your future, is formed.
A university should be the beginning of great things, in my opinion, so why don’t we make it official?
All those in favor…