This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Almost immediately after George Mason University announced last week that it was changing the name of its law school to the Antonin Scalia School of Law, the pundits pounced: the acronym for the school would be either ASSOL or ASSLAW.
Social media erupted.
The name change came after the law school in Arlington, Virginia, received $30 million in donations, to include $10 million from the Charles Koch Foundation and $20 million from an anonymous donor. It was not scheduled to be announced last week, but Nina Totenberg got word of it and tweeted it, the school soon confirmed it, and numerous unspeakable jokes were soon made.
The school has moved fairly quickly to amend the name in order to avoid any scatalogical acronyms. Dean Henry Butler sent out a letter to alumni, first reported by the "Above the Law" blog Tuesday, that the school will be called the Antonin Scalia Law School.
"The name initially announced," Butler wrote, "has caused some acronym controversy on social media. The Antonin Scalia Law School is a logical substitute. We anticipate the naming will be effective on July 1, 2016 pending final approval by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia."
Butler's office did not immediately release a copy of the letter Tuesday.
The new acronym becomes ASLS, attracting a new round of jokes on social media.