Citing confusion among University students about the identity and role of the College Advisory Board, the CAB voted to rename itself the Arts and Sciences Council in a meeting Wednesday.
"We changed the name to serve the students of the College of Arts and Sciences so that they know who we are and can access our services," said Matt Rose, president of the College.
The Council is a representative body of College students. Most of the members are either elected by College students or selected to represent an academic department. The Council also includes representatives from the Honor Committee, the Judiciary Committee, Echols Council and the class councils. The Council works to fulfill the academic needs and interests of College students.
It sponsors programs like the Cavalier Card which allows students to take their professors to lunch at the Garden Room free of charge, academic advising fairs, the Peer Academic Advising Program and co-sponsorships which make money available to students, faculty and organizations on a competitive basis.
Rose said many students did not know what the College Advisory Board was. He said because of the name, people thought CAB was a small group of faculty members who advised some sort of "higher power."
After discussing the issue at meetings for about a month, the Council voted 23-6 to change the name.
Secretary of the College Rebecca Daugherty said most of the people who voted against the name change thought "Arts and Sciences Council" was too generic.
"They felt like 'College Advisory Board' set us apart from other groups on grounds," Daugherty said. But she added that the new name "gives us a connection to the other groups like us around Grounds," like the Engineering School Council and the Graduate Student Council.
College Dean Melvyn P. Leffler supported the change. "I think the students have the right to decide what's the right name," Leffler said. "If that's what they think is appropriate, then it's appropriate."
This is the second name change in the Council's history. When it started in 1894 it was called the College Council, then in 1993, the College student body voted to change the name to the College Advisory Board.
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