'ASS Law': University gets a lesson in acronyms after renaming law school for Antonin Scalia

An earnest attempt by one of America's top public research universities to honour late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia backfired in spectacular fashion this week after word got out that it had inadvertently renamed its law school "ASS Law" (or, if you prefer, "ASSoL.")

Virginia'sGeorge Mason University was thrilled to announce on Thursday that it had received a total of $30 million US in gifts to support its law school the largest combined pledgesumuniversityhistory.

At the request of one anonymous donor, who contributed $20 million to the funding pool, George Mason agreed to rename its law school after Scalia, whodiedin February at the age of 79.

"Justice Scalia, who served 30 years on the U.S. Supreme Court, spoke at the dedication of the law school building in 1999 and was a guest lecturer at the university," wrote the school in a press release about the name change. "In recognition of this historic gift, the Board of Visitors has approved the renaming of the school to The Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason University."

Thepage onGeorge Mason'swebsitecontaining that release was updated, however,on April 7 according to its source code. Instead of "TheAntoninScaliaSchool of Law," the name now reads"theAntoninScaliaLaw School."

If you can figure out what theformer name'sacronym would be, it's easy to see why orat least it was for people on Twitter after the university'sinitial announcement.

News and chatter aboutthe unfortunate acronym propelled the#ASSLaw hashtagto trend in Washington, D.C. on March 31. Some even speculated that the entire renaming was an April Fools joke.

Alas, it was not. George Mason University deanHenry N. Butler addressed the controversy onTuesday in aletter addressed to students, faculty members and alumni.

"All of you should have received an email from me on Thursday of last week announcing the historic gift of $30 millionfor our great law school," he wrote."The name initially announced The Antonin Scalia School of Law has caused some acronym controversy on social media. The Antonin Scalia Law School is a logical substitute."

Butler said that he anticipates thenaming to becomeeffective byJuly of this year, "pending final approval by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia."

This hasn't deterred fans of the original acronym from championing it.

Some on Twitter continue to argue that "ASSoL" isfitting, primarilyon the grounds that$10 million of the total gift sum was donated by the Charles Koch Foundation.

Koch and his brother, David the Koch brothersrun the second-largest private corporation in the U.S. and are noted for using theirwealth to influence politicians (and thus policy.) Their critics are plentiful.

Othersjust seem to really, really want an "ASS Law" t-shirt. Fortunately for them, several are now available to buy.

While critics of the #ASSoLtrendcontend that these jokesare immature ordisrespectful to Scalia'slegacy, it's hard to say how theSupreme Court Justice himself would have reacted.

"JusticeAntonin Scaliacould be caustic in his dissents," wrote the New York Times. "But he was also known for asharp witthat often drew laughter fromSupreme Courtaudiences...So perhaps even he would have found humour in the commotion over the new name."

It certainlydidn't seem to bother his longtimecolleague and personal friend, Supreme Court JusticeRuth Bader Ginsburg.

"Justice Scalia was a law teacher, public servant, legal commentator, and jurist nonpareil," she said in a statement published byGeorge Mason University."As a colleague who held him in highest esteem and great affection, I miss his bright company and the stimulus he provided, his opinions ever challenging me to meet his best efforts with my own."

"May the funds for scholarships, faculty growth, and curricular development aid the Antonin Scalia School of Law to achieve the excellence characteristic of Justice Scalia," she concluded. "Grand master in life and law."