[Seriously?] The Gulf of WUR

The pond between Forum and Orion will be getting a new name by decree: the Gulf of WUR.

The idea came as a sudden brainwave a few days after the inauguration of the American president Donald Trump, says WUR Rector Caroline Cruise. ‘Say what you will about the guy, he’s certainly a breath of hot air — I mean fresh air. I was standing at my office window on the sixth floor of Atlas looking down at the pond, when I suddenly realized that pond was nameless.’

She soon had a new name for it. Convincing the other board members was a little trickier. ‘Mr Finance poured cold water on the suggestion as usual: “it’s just an oversized puddle and the gap between the buildings is hardly a gulf”. But you need to take a broader view of these things. A narrow gap can soon develop into a gulf, certainly in our polarized times.’

In contrast, Google Maps responded enthusiastically, says Cruise. ‘Especially because the pond didn’t yet have a name, which cartographers hate. And the Gulf of WUR is such a great name. It underlines the importance of our organization as a major player in research on soil, atmosphere and, last but not least, water.’

A narrow gap can easily become a gulf in these polarized times

Now she’s tested the water, Cruise wants to try out some more ideas. The name Wageningen, for instance. ‘I’m considering WURgeningen. That shows immediately what this Food Valley city is all about: WUR as a WURld leader. Without us, Wageningen would just be another Culemborg. And we don’t want that. Of course I would need to get our WURthy mayor on board.’ 

Criticisms that ‘WURgeningen’ draws a bit too much attention to WUR’s dominance of the town are brushed aside by Cruise. ‘It’s about creating clarity, especially for travellers who want to get to the campus by public transport. No more Ede-Wageningen; the train station should be called WURgeningen! But that might not be so easy. The railway guys don’t like ideas without a track record.’

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