Not long ago someone made a comment that this whole situation was like a bad case of identity theft and the Alumnae Association is the victim. Many members of the 117 year old Alumnae Association feel like some nameless entity has snuck in and simply ripped away the very basis of their existence. The association’s identity is rooted in the University’s history and has existed continuously since the very first graduating class in 1889. That identity has evolved over the years, changing as the institution moved forward and grew. The name changed with the times but there was always a link to those that had given its identity life over the years.

From the first president, Fanny Camp, to its most recent, Betty Lou Jones, the Association has been a staunch supporter to the institution its members loved. Across the years the alumni of MUW have felt a connection to each other that is like no other. The shear fact that there was a spot with their name on it in the Long Blue Line for each and every member created a bond that can not be set aside. That bond is so strong that those outside the circle simply can not understand it. The members of the association have fought back when others have tried to do away with the alma mater they hold dear. They have fought back when thoughts of changing the institution’s identity would cause its most basic being to be altered into something other than what it had always been, an institution dedicated to educating women.

This current attack on the association’s identity itself might be easier to accept if it truly was a nameless entity behind it. However, the attacker is someone who instead of fostering a solid relationship with the members has chosen to rip away all the things that provide a face to the group. The attacker has chosen to demand that the group give up its identity and all things that make it whole. She has chosen to attempt to erase its long history, for you see the association’s face is one that is aged and wizened. She has chosen to demand that the association change its name and no longer call itself by its own long standing tag. For some of the staunch members of that association this is nothing short of identity theft.

Identity theft not caused by some faceless entity in some faraway land but theft caused by someone who is known to all. Now they are fighting back against the thief. Fighting to maintain an identity they hold dear. For you see, this attacker might be able to succeed in ripping away its face but they will not succeed in ripping away its soul.