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[homestawwunner]

This whole Jean-Luc Picard Memorial Hall thing is a joke, right? As far as I can tell, there's no press release on WPI's wobsite (yes, I said wobsite), there's no Mark Hammond listed in WPI's directory, and the student quoted in the "press release" comes from roughly the same circle of friends as the creators of the Facebook group

Comments

[witeoutking]

Here's how I understand the situation:

The cement and/or concrete used in building East Hall was brought in (and partially donated) by a company majority-owned by Patrick Stewart. People found this out, and have been calling it the "Captain Jean-Luc Picard Memorial Hall".

...that said, I have no idea who Mark Hammond is or why that would have anything to do with it.

Also, they are accepting a name for the hall with the price tag of $4,000,000.

[homestawwunner]

Jon Adler started a Facebook group called "I'm Excited About Picard Hall" that has a press release that says an alumnus of WPI donated the money to have it officially named the Jean-Luc Picard Memorial Hall. The press release also contains a quote from Mark Hammond, director of fundraising:

"Mark Hammond, director of fundraising at WPI, believes that the name is appropriate for WPI. “There’s no doubt in my mind that the building’s name fits,” Hammond stated. “Jean-Luc Picard was one of the greatest figures in the entire Star Trek universe. He came up with solutions where none were thought to exist. He always sought to find the right way to deal with the many problems presented to his crew. If anything, Picard exemplifies the type of person WPI students should strive to be.”

[decimusawsumus]

No, it's totally real.

[decimusawsumus]

WHat I don't get is why they'd have a memorial to someone who's not dead.