Will the word ‘Hawkeye’ be prohibited?

Recently, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill that bars credit unions from using public university names in their titles and the Regents followed up by adopting a new policy prohibiting university trademarks from becoming part of unassociated groups' names. Regent Larry McKibben is concerned about the potential harm such misleading associations could cause the public universities.

When someone in the Corridor area uses the term Hawkeye in a sentence they most likely are referring to University of Iowa sports. There are at least 35 commercial enterprises in Iowa City, none of which are associated with the university, that have Hawkeye as part of their business names. In Cedar Rapids, there are at least 47 such enterprises with Hawkeye as part of their business names.

Are Regent McKibben and Gov. Reynolds going to prohibit these businesses from using the word Hawkeye in their business names? If not, then the UI Community Credit Union should change their name to Hawkeye Community Credit Union. Or would that add to the common confusion McKibben's constituents have with the credit union's name? Perhaps Regent McKibben and Gov. Reynolds should spend our tax money on educational efforts to minimize confusion in more important aspects of Iowans' lives.

Ralph Cap

Iowa City