While “A Place of Mind” is fun, snappy and cool, it was not our first choice when it was time to pick a motto. Here are a few that I advocated for before they were all unfairly voted down by the Board of Governors.
“UBC: A Place of Resigned”
This idea was floated after Gupta left to let everyone know it was safe to come back.
“UBC: North Wesbrook Village”
After getting our first ever Subway, we realized we’re quickly becoming a luxury destination for people who don’t know how to make their own sandwiches. We want potential UBC donors to know that the campus is a place of serene luxury, if places of serene luxury occasionally had small herds of drunk first-year students migrating from the Greek Village on the weekends.
“UBC: The #1 University for Earth and Ocean Sciences”
Highlighting UBC’s second-cutest department of study is a longtime priority for my administration since its arbitrary promotion to number one. We passed on this because some former Board members felt that UBC might not remain the #1 school forever. Which it will. Always. Forever.
“UBC: A Place to Grind:”
During the ’90s I thought we could attract more cooler kids to the university — not the regular dweebs we always get — and realized skateboarding was the best image for unadulterated “cool.”
“UBC: Hey! I’m walkin’ here!”
What better way to show other universities that we are not to be trifled with than quoting Dustin Hoffman’s famous improvised line from 1969’s Best Picture-winner The Midnight Cowboy?