![]()
Oct. 8, 2015
A donor, who has elected to remain anonymous, has offered the University of Chicago 500 million dollars to rename one of the houses being moved to North “Fuck”. The opportunity to name a house arose as part of the university’s campaign to raise money after the costs of recent construction plunged the university’s finances into the red.
The university has stated that they are ‘deliberating’ over this somewhat controversial naming choice, however a university representative admitted that the board of trustees is close to acceptance.
“The University of Chicago has a longstanding tradition of enabling freedom of speech and academic discourse. It would go against that hallowed tradition to deny this naming request merely because some perceive the name as profane,” the representative said,
Mervin Sciat, a professor of linguistics, noted that the word fuck can be traced back to the 15th century, when it meant ‘to hit’. “If you look at the history, there are a number of people with the word fuck in their names. Irving Fukkyoo and John Fukyo’Mam are two fine examples,” he said.
Some students have, however, raised concerns about the losses of original house names, which they argue are integral to the school’s history. These concerns have been largely dismissed by the administration. After a lengthy meeting with concerned students, one administrator was heard to exclaim, “The finest tradition of this university is raising money. Without that, there’s nothing else.”
To which one of the students remarked that the school’s motto should be changed to “Pecunia crescat, vita excolatur.”
Unless another donor makes a higher offer, it is likely that the name change will go through.
