The market-place of ideas

The Birmingham university world is in turbulence. It's wild, I tell thee. Disturbing. The students are no longer apathetic: no! They're passionate. They're objecting. They may even be objectionable. They're certainly close to revolting. It's hard to place an exact timescale on it, but it's not a pretty picture:

Yes. Aston University got a new logo. The students rose up with one voice (well, one facebook group anyway) and said, "I strongly believe that the new Aston University logos are horrible." Revolutionary, but polite. It must be noted that a logo which can have a James Blunt song on Sesame Street is, well, of dubious quality. It has been likened to Doritos, or Napier Uni's triangle slightly tilted in EasyJet orange. So much for Aston.

Then the University of Central England. Now, perhaps some people wouldn't know where UCE is, not realising that Birmingham is the centre of England. After all, I think it's Coventry which takes the Awful Accolade of furthest from the sea. Either way, the University of Central England in Birmingham is now:

BCU students consoled themselves with the fact that their new logo couldn't be as bad as that of Aston.

And then the Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies joined in. Now, little BCFTCS is a marvellous half HE, half FE college in the centre of Birmingham, notable for its chefs. Only in BCFTCSCU could one have a Bible study in a room with a live lobster scuttling round the adjoining kitchen. The rather cumbersome name wasn't a problem for BCFTCS students: they merely nicknamed themselves Cakes College, or College of Cakes. The Student Guild is known as Cakes Guild. The CU, rather than being BCFTCSCU, are, thankfully, Cakes CU. Kudos. But that just wasn't good enough for the powers that be. Oh no. BCFTCS now rejoices in the name University College Birmingham. The students, once again, are revolting. (Cakes are not.) They have reclaimed it: it may be UCB, but UCB is the University of Cakes, Birmingham.

So, just in case you got lost, Birmingham now hosts Aston University (aka EasyJet Doritos), BU, BCU, UCB, BC (Bournville College), and others. Clear? Good. Brand apathy, anyone?