Articles of the Month

Newfoundland AND Labrador

The Memorial University of Newfoundland has over 17,000 students spread across 4 campuses. One campus lies in the capital city located on the island. The other three campuses are located at the Frecker Institute on the Islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, another known as the Harlow Campus in England, and another, the Sir Wilfred Grenfell Campus located in Corner Brook. Recently, there has been much debate on whether or not the "Newfoundland" part of the university name should be dropped from the official institute name. All this comes less than a year after Newfoundland officially changed it's name to "Newfoundland and Labrador" to include the mainland portion of the province.

Now, due to this change, the Board of Regents at MUN has submitted a recommendation to either drop the Newfoundland portion of the school title or to simply add "and Labrador" to the official name. What this brings about is yet another unnecessary component of controversy at MUN. I am a second year student at Memorial. All throughout it's existence, Memorial was always referred to as MUN by other Newfoundland and Labrador students. However, in the rest of Canada, what I know as MUN is actually known as "Memorial". So, does changing our name to include Labrador make a difference? The answer is NO!

The university is a memorial to the thousands of Newfoundlanders who lost their lives in both World Wars. It's a memorial to the fallen in that through the freedom of learning, their sacrifice and cause would not be forgotten. This name change would neither be respectful or appropriate. Just because or province goes from NF to NL, doesn't mean every institution in Newfoundland and Labrador has to lose their sense of heritage because of it.

However, for those of us here in Newfoundland who feel Labrador is being excluded, think about this. The University is located on the Newfoundland portion of the province and always has been. The other campuses not located on the island have other names besides the Memorial University title. We would most certainly be losing a sense of our own heritage by changing our name as it is a commemoration to our past and what we lost by sacrificing the one thing that can't be given back - Life!