"Disappearing Rainbows"

by Bob Topor
Senior Consultant, Topor Consulting Group

I'm responding to an extract from an article in the Advocate, a gay publication.

Gay Link Prompts U. of Hawaii to Drop Rainbow Logo

As the proud father of a gay son and an administrator in higher education for over forty years, I shouldn't be astonished by U of H's remarkably dumb decision. (I've witnessed many other senseless higher education decisions over the years.) But, as the author of a Council for Advancement and Support of Education book about institutional identity, I'm shocked that the U of H would abandon its equity in a 77-year-old symbol (equity equates to money) and the identity value it contains, not to mention the cultural significance.

The history of the rainbow logo is described in the U of H's web site:

As one of the members of a PR list serves said, "Heaven forbid anyone be associated with a group that, when compared to a random cross section of the population, has been shown to be more wealthy, more highly educated, more likely to vote, less likely to be convicted of felonies, more likely to be active in promoting, community and more likely to give to charity."

I agree with this tongue-in-cheek assessment. Besides abandoning tons of ID equity, the U of H has alienated a segment of the market that's potentially valuable to them. Included are current gay faculty and students, as well as gay alumni, gay supporters, and friends of the university. Dropping the rainbow logo could be viewed as homophobic. It seems an unwise move at any time, but especially now when we see attitudes toward gays softening.

I support cultural groups who feel their identity is misused (Indians, Braves, etc.). However, in this case, the group (the gay community) isn't complaining and doesn't want to drop the symbol. The people at the U of H who are complaining are the ones who feel they're stuck with the tainted identity.

I admit I'm prejudiced. As the father of a gay son (shot in a gay-bashing incident) and an active member of P-FLAG (Parents, Families, Friends of Lesbians, Gays and Transgenders) and deacon of a Presbyterian More Light Church (welcoming gay men, lesbians and bisexuals) I feel strongly about gay issues. I love and accept my gay son Zak and my gay son-in-law Wes. They're great guys. My late wife Martha was very active in supporting Zak and Wes. My girlfriend Louise is a strong supporter as well, I'm happy to say. I wouldn't have a girlfriend who doesn't support gays.

However, from a purely professional viewpoint, it amazes me that U of H would elect to discard a long-time identifier. A symbol (rainbow), like real estate or money in the bank, has EQUITY. It's a long-term investment. U of H has an extremely valuable investment in rainbows and all the positive feelings they evoke. Symbols (identifiers) have value. Arbitrarily changing or dropping a symbol needs to be very carefully considered. Marketing research needs to be conducted BEFORE making such a radical decision.

Typically, in higher education, summer is the time when potentially volatile decisions are made and implemented because most people are off campus. I only hope U of H alumni can bring pressure to bear to reverse this dumb decision. I feel sorry for gay students and alumni at U of H. I don't think we've seen the last of this debate.

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Bob Topor is the author of Institutional Image: How to Define, Improve, Market It, now in its second (revised) electronic edition. The book describes how important institutional imagery is in the confusing, ephemeral higher education marketplace and is available at www.marketinged.com.

Copyright 2000. Topor Consulting Group International

TOP

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