Mistaken Identity
Some 40 years ago, I came home from law school classes and found a letter from the university in the mail…where they threatened to file a small claims lawsuit against me for failing to pay tuition and related fees. This was of great concern, because I was not only paid up, but I worked for the university and they were paying me.
Then I noticed that the middle initial on the nasty letter was different from mine…A is not my middle initial, but someone with that middle initial didn’t pay his bills. So I quickly called the university folks, who apologized for being sloppy.
Mistaken identity happens, and at times it comes from being sloppy. There was no way for me to prevent that.
I was reminded of that long-ago story when I heard that Cornell College in Mount Vernon was proactively letting people know that their Cornell was completely separate and distinct from the New York-based Cornell University—you know, the one that is in the news because a woman says she was sexually assaulted on campus when she was a student and university officials did not take her report seriously.
What a smart move by the Iowa folks. While I’ve never been to Cornell University, I have spent time on the Cornell College campus…beautiful place, and I’m guessing far different in virtually all respects from the other Cornell.
But in a world where nuance is often forgotten, and with a social media world that fires frenzied posts first and asks questions or checks facts later, it’s good for the Iowa folks to politely raise their hands and say, “that’s not us.”
So to be clear…Cornell College in Iowa is famous for the “one course at a time” academic approach. Cornell University in New York is famous for…well, let’s just say…not that.
