By: Rick Martinez / FIUSM.com Editor
Over 1,400 students joined a group on Facebook against the renaming of the University’s main campus after outgoing President Modesto A. Maidique.

On June 12, the Board of Trustees voted to change the name of the main campus from University Park Campus to Modesto Maidique Campus, abbreviated MMC.

The move came as a tribute to Maidique’s tenure as the University’s president; he will transition his office to President-Designate Mark Rosenberg later this year.

The Facebook group against the change, named “No to ‘Maidique’s Campus,’” was created by FIU student Kevin Gurley the day after the Board of Trustees meeting.

“We didn’t think the name was appropriate. The name University Park Campus should stay,” Gurley said. “I decided to see if there were other students that thought the same thing.”

The group has urged members to send a letter to the Board of Trustees e-mail address expressing their opinion. According to Gurley, he and other students have sent them e-mails, but so far there has been no word of a response.

“I don’t think anyone has heard a response from them,” Gurley said.

The group’s counterpart, a group named “Students who support renaming FIU’s south campus to honor Maidique,” includes multiple high-level members of SGC-MMC, including President Anthony Rionda and Vice-President Mykaelle Figueiredo.

Rionda said he thinks the renaming of the campus is suitable for the work Maidique has done.

“It really reflects what he’s built, especially at University Park,” Rionda said. “Naming it after him was just an honor that is better than a building.”

Rionda also said that, by naming the campus, buildings and colleges are still able to sell their naming rights without losing any revenue.

“We need to have every fundraising ability and every naming right available,” he said. “Every dime counts.”

As of June 22, the group against the change has more than 1,400 members while the group supporting the new name has a little more than 155.

“It pretty much just grew on its own,” Gurley said. “I didn’t expect it to get as big as it did.”

Gurley said he believes that most students are against the name change, “based on comments from [News@FIU], The Miami Herald, and the [group’s message] board.”

He believes that Rionda should side with them.

“I don’t think he’s looking into the interests of the students,” Gurley said. “I find that really strange that he would join the group as well as still be for the name change.”

“I represent 38,000 students,” Rionda said. “I’m supporting the interest of the student in honoring a person who has increased the value of our degree through his efforts and his continual zeal for promoting Florida International University.”

“I, Anthony Rionda, as a student, will be honored to take a class on a campus named after Modesto Maidique.”

Gurley said that the Board of Trustees had alternate options other than naming the entire campus after Maidique.

“I think he did do a lot of great things for the University and I completely support him, but there’s many other things that could be named after him,” he said. “I would like the Board of Trustees to just review and be able to reconsider the name change, and really just hear the views of the students.”

Aside from whether the campus name should stay or be changed again, Rionda said that the fact that there’s a reaction to the name change is good for the University.


”It inspires me that so many people are involved and care about FIU so much to speak for or against this,” he said. “Any number is impressive. It’s impressive to see so many people caring about the University, especially on Facebook.”

No members of the administration or the Board of Trustees could be reached for comment as of the publishing of this article.