terrapinsanity.com

The new slogan is finally out (thanks, Diamondback): “Unstoppable starts here.”

Doesn’t grab us yet, but at least it is descriptive of Main Admin’s effort to refactor the campus into a recruiting machine: “unstoppable.” Admissions remains a tail that wags the campus dog, and the Provost obediently falls into line.

This news is already great in at least one way: maybe we can start counting the days until “Fear the turtle!” is a thing of the past. It is a great way to recruit scholars …. not. Recruiting directors in the top colleges on campus have gritted their teeth for years at the Admissions staff’s dysfunctional handling of academically talented students. When greeting a prospective with serious intellectual depth who is courted nationwide, Maryland’s crack Admissions crew (the Admissions crew on crack) typically talks campus life and football. “How ’bout them Terps? Fear the Turtle!” Maybe that’s to be able to say something since typically they don’t know specifics of academic programs to which we’d like to attract such talent, but the effect is the same. College Park is trying to build a world class intellectual center with a balloons and terptini Admissions mentality.

Out among the college recruiting staff, the sub rosa phrase is “Eff the Turtle!” The change gives us a chance at a fresh start, but if the new slogan ends up buried by the same old mishandling of scholars by Admissions, then don’t expect much.