In East Asian culture, we name things by what they do instead of simply handing out designations.

Ok, maybe Happy Golden Round Moon does not qualify, but I guarantee you it will also say “Hunan, Szechuan, Cantonese/(etc) Cuisine” or “Chinese Food” below it on the menu just inside the building. This is one of the places where “political correctness” is a facilitator, not a heartbreaker.

Now, let’s apply that to Millersville University. Yesterday, I visited “Susquehanna House” and “Allegheny House.” A good deal of the anthropology faculty and media were found in Allegheny House, but the administrative area was found in Susquehanna House. A cost-effective way to handle the identification difficulties would be to change the designations on the paper campus map.

Instead of having the address in parentheses, it should say what the building does. Allegheny House becomes “Sociology/Anthropology Administration.”
Susquehanna House becomes “Sociology/Anthropology II.”

If you wanted to take it a step further, you could create little icons for the buildings instead of numbers, which are out of order because of Alphabet Soup.

Allegheny would be a mountain, and Susquehanna would be a river. Delaware would be a three-cornered hat, because of George Washington. Nichols would be a bucket, because the oceanography people work with sand and that’s their building.

And now for your reading pleasure, I have included some more of my own labels: Pucillo becomes “Pool.” Boyer becomes “Tech People in Person.”

SMC becomes”Radio and Fast Food.” Gordinier is “Most Food.” The Cove is “Small Food,” as is Roddy Cafe. The Bistro is “Nice Food.” Ganser becomes “Books and Great View.”

If anyone is offended, I ask why it matters when I am the only one who reads the
dedication plaques/(if I can find them). Who said you couldn’t put non-MU
things on the map, like “Methodist Church”/(1st UMC), “Bible Church”/(Millersville), “Non-MU Cafe”/(George Street), “Non-MU Fast Food”/(Sugar Bowl), RRTA “Out” Bus Stop(Route 16 Millersville), RRTA Park City Bus Stop, RRTA Campus Bus Stop, “Coffeehouse”/(Javateas) and “Pizza Shop”/(House of Pizza). Then, to distinguish Newman House from the Catholic Church on 999/(St. Philip), call it “Catholic Envoy.”

You cannot ignore “Here are your nice chopsticks to enjoy your nice Chinese food,” with diagrams included. If they merely said “Chopsticks,” Chinese food as “Americans” know it would cease to exist.