Give name to SAC

The Student Activities Center (SAC) has become an iconic edifice on campus. Opened just before the 2013-14 school year, the hulk of gleaming white pillars and shimmering glass symbolize everything that the University of Miami hopes to embody: modernity, significance and swag.

The center was made possible by a generous $20 million lead gift from the Fairholme Foundation as a part of the Momentum2 fundraising campaign. Lead donors Tracy and Bruce Berkowitz called it an honor to support “the University of Miami’s prestigious growth under the leadership of President Shalala,” according to a statement published on the Momentum2 website.

Today, the SAC is a watering hole for student life. Students work inside offices, fall asleep on couches, study in the 24-hour lounge and host events in the ballrooms. For off-campus students, the SAC acts as a second home.

It seems strange that a building so integral to student life has not yet been dedicated.  Favorite student spots like the Patti and Allan Herbert Wellness Center, the Norman A. Whitten University Center and the Otto G. Richter Library all bear equally cumbersome names. The SAC, however, remains the single-named Beyoncé of campus buildings.

One wonders whose name would be worthy enough for the SAC. It might be suitable to honor an individual whose legacy is as large as the physical size of the building, whose commitment to this school during the past 14 years warrants the dedication of the most recognizable symbol of the new UM and perhaps whose tenacious fundraising efforts have made the construction of the SAC and other new facilities possible.

But that’s just speculation. It seems that the SAC’s namesake still remains a mystery to be unveiled, perhaps in the weeks to come.

Who knows what building the P100 tour guides will be parading prospective students in front of next spring? The Gloria Estefan Student Center? The Dwayne Johnson SAC?

One can only guess.

Jackie Yang is a freshman majoring in neuroscience.