From LUMS to LUMSU

LAHORE: The decision of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) administration to say goodbye to acronym LUMS and use the name “LUMS University” caused quite a stir on the social media on Monday.

The move attracted much attention from the LUMS community in particular and academic circles in general and the new acronym, i.e. LUMSU (not approved by the LUMS University) remained one of the top trends on the social media in Pakistan for quite some time.

While there was no official word from the “LUMS University” administration on the issue, rumour has it that this is a major rebranding move for the university which, traditionally, has been considered as a management university.

“The university is no longer just for Management Sciences. It offers degrees in Law, History, English, Chemistry, etc. Over the years, the LUMS has acquired a brand value of its own,” commented one of the faculty members who

wished to remain anonymous while talking to The News.

Others also linked the move with the recent not for profit status which the LUMS has started highlighting on its website was never witnessed on the university’s website in the past.

The university administration notified the staff and students about the change via email on Monday morning.

However, it seems the move was not received well by the university community who preferred calling it LUMS instead of the LUMS University.

A LUMS University faculty member, Umair Javed, was perhaps the first one to highlight the change on the social media.

In his post, he wrote: “Woke up to an admin email that says LUMS is no longer an acronym. The university is now formally called LUMS University (I guess on account of it being more than just a place for people to study management).”

This was followed by a series of tweets by the LUMS community in particular and other individuals in general who, mostly, made fun of the university’s move to abandon the use of acronym LUMS.

“Years of rickshaw walas calling it Lums University finally paying off,” wrote one tweeter who goes by the name Husn Hai Suhana.

“Slept as LUMS student, woke up as LUMSU one,” tweeted Shayan. Fasi Zaka suggested to the university “Make it

Lahore University of Management Sciences University in Lahore just so there is no room for confusion.”

Safa wrote: “Imagine saying I'm a LUMS graduate now. I'm from LUMSU. Who is gonna take us serious now? She tweeted using hashtags #LUMS #LUMSU.

No LUMS University official was available for comment. A query on the university’s official Facebook’s Ask LUMS section in this regard also remained unanswered.