Earthshaking news, people: “SEAS” will no longer be called “SEAS.” Instead, as of Fall 2011, it will be “CE” for “Columbia Engineering.” Yes, gone are the days of probing your new NSOP buddy with the pleasingly assonant phrase, “CC or SEAS?”

The Student Affairs Orientation page reads:

The first newsletter to Columbia College (CC) and Columbia Engineering (CE) First Years is now available.

That newsletter reads:

Dear parents and families of the Columbia College and Columbia Engineering Class of 2015,

On behalf of the Division of Student Affairs, it is an honor to welcome you and your family into our Columbia family. I invite you to join us at our June Summer Advising events and I look forward to meeting you during Family Orientation and Family Weekend in the fall. If I can be of any assistance to you, do not hesitate contact me.

Regards,

Matthew Patashnick

Director of Parent and Family Programs

According to one Bwogger, Peña-Mora spoke at an ESC meeting about the superiority of “CE” over “SEAS” because of its inclusion of “Columbia” and its two letter acronym to match the other undergraduate schools. Perhaps that’s why CE changed its name to PAX?

So, basically, the administration did it without your approval and without transparency. SEAS-kids, or should we say “CE students,” we’re sorry. We’re probably going to continue to call it SEAS, and judging by the lack of widespread official notice of the change, so will everyone else.