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The Montclair State Board of Trustees is expected to vote on naming the parking deck at its Dec. 12 meeting. President Susan A. Cole will recommend the "Red Hawk Deck," based on the overwhelming number of suggestions to use the Red Hawk mascot in the name.

More than 250 names were submitted in response to a recent call for suggested names. They ranged from the sophisticated--Clear Mountain View, and the simple--Parking Garage No. 1, to the poignant--Higher Learning Lot and the clever--Jurassic Park.

Others suggested naming the garage after people, from celebrities to former employees. But for now it looks like the Buzz Aldrin Parking Tower or the Jimmy Carter Garage will have to take a back seat to the Red Hawk Deck.

Another facility will be named with help from the campus community--the new residential village on Clove Road. Each of the five buildings is expected to be named after a prominent deceased New Jerseyan. Residential students were given the names of 32 prospects to vote on or they could add their own suggestion to the list. The list was then narrowed down to the top 16:
Bud (William A.) Abbott and Lou Costello (Louis Francis Cristillo)
(William) Count Basie
Aaron Burr
(Stephen) Grover Cleveland
Thomas Alva Edison
Albert Einstein
Allen Ginsberg
Annie Oakley (Phoebe Ann Mosey)
Dorothy Rothschild Parker
Paul Bustill Robeson
Frank (Francis Albert) Sinatra
Sarah Lois Vaughn
Walt(er) Whitman
(Clerow) Flip Wilson
(Thomas) Woodrow Wilson

This list was then shared with the campus community for additional input. People were asked to send the names of their top choices from the list or to suggest additional names by Dec. 6. Cole will bring a recommendation to the Board of Trustees.

So will students be unpacking their bags in a building named after a king of comedy, old blue eyes or a great inventor? We'll soon find out.

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