The University of Oregon newspaper interviews Stephen Stolp, executive director of support services for student-athletes at the school, about the new student-athlete learning center building, which features, writes the reporter, “many reminders of students who balanced athletics and academics and came out on top in both: names are engraved and painted on the walls, the floors and even the mirrors.”
“There’s a lot of umbrage to the past,” Stolp said.
Right after you figure out homage was intended, you get this:
Eugene Sandoval, a design partner at the Portland-based architecture firm Zimmer Gunsul Frasca, headed the design team for the center. Before he and his partners began designing, he traveled to universities all over the country to draw inspiration. He found that “the more astute the university, as far as academic prowess and achievement, the more their buildings are a representation of our culture.”
UD read Sandoval’s comment to Mr UD. Mr UD looked thoughtful. He said: “That probably meant something.”
January 5th, 2010 at 10:49AM
Mr UD wins the Internets today! Along those lines, the House Speaker in Iowa said, “I think in these economic times, you want to reward hard work, you want to put as many people back to work as possible, but you want to pay them a good day’s wages and good benefits for the job they’re doing,” @ http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/article_27a4eb32-f9af-11de-a731-001cc4c002e0.html
Not *quite* as mindboggling, but I’m still not 100% I understand what he thought he meant.
January 5th, 2010 at 12:45PM
What a gorgeous malapropism!
January 5th, 2010 at 4:15PM
Yes. It has a rare beauty.
January 5th, 2010 at 5:34PM
I will need to find a way to slip the umbrage/homage malaprop gracefully into conversation. In another era, and context, Dorothy Parker would have been able to make something out of it. That said, each paragraph of this article contains a jaw-dropping statement, each of which rests on the unquestioned assumption that a university should be building such a facility in the first place.
January 5th, 2010 at 5:54PM
You fancy pants literature types may think this stuff is funny, but I personally take great homage from this post about my University. I’d write more, but the lights just flickered and I received this email:
The UO electrical power system continues to experience problems today and campus may experience disruptions. These issues are related to the new switch gear housing and its computer control systems. Therefore, the power supply to campus still remains somewhat unreliable. The design engineers and software installers are on site evaluating the issues. Campus Operations recommends that people do not initiate experiments or connect electrically delicate gear until we have more confidence that the power will be stable.
The umbrage is darkening.
January 5th, 2010 at 8:21PM
I’m hoping for some good penumbrage at the next eclipse.
January 7th, 2010 at 1:41PM
Not as good, but still good, and on topic!
“Almost all major universities have a free-standing building for academics,” said head football coach Steve Spurrier. “It is crucial that we build ours. Thanks to Dodie and her family, this is going to happen.”
January 7th, 2010 at 3:37PM
Jason: Hilarious! Thanks for sending it along.