College Motto: Brooklyn College

The Brooklyn College motto is Nil sine magno labore. That translates to nothing without great effort. After an hour of looking through wikipedia, the college websites, and some articles about the college in its early years, I could not find why, when, or who selected the motto. I’m willing to believe that the reason is somewhere on the internet, but I have given up hope on where I could find it. I think the motto is a good motto for Brooklyn College and all colleges in general. I think it is a good motto for colleges in general because you should only receive the benefits of a college education via the effort required to get it. For Brooklyn College specifically, they think it works because of the high level of work their students do. While their methods aren’t 100% effective, but it works well enough to give us people such as Bernie Sanders.

I couldn't find a better image, I looked for half an hour.
I couldn't find a better picture, I looked for half an hour. -Diego
Sources: http://www.picturequotes.com/nil-sine-magno-labore-nothing-without-great-effort-motto-of-brooklyn-college-quote-1021356, http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/about.php, http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/about/facts.php

University of Texas Motto

University of Texas Motto

The motto for the university of Texas is "disciplina praesidium civitatis". It means cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy. It was made by Dr. Edward W. Fay. It was made in October of 1905. It was made to be an academic guild. I think it is an good motto for the university. It involves making a mind well educated which is something college does. There is a lot of history to the quote like it being a academic guild. It is also put at a lot of places in the campus so it has a importance to the campus. The motto is very important for the university and has a lot of history to it.

https://www.utsystem.edu/board-of-regents/history/seal-university

https://jimnicar.com/ut-traditions/the-university-of-texas-seal/

Nathan Moon

 

Lux Sit- University of Washington

This motto can be translated to mean let there be light. The motto was established by the University's first President, Asa Mercer in 1861. His decision to make this the offical motto of the school has been questioned for quite some time because of it's vagueness and erroneous grammar. Though it is only two words in can be translated as many things such as let there be light or there is a light here. The term fiax lux is actually translates smoother to let there be light, however it is already the motto of the University of California at Berkly.
I don't think this is an appropriate
 motto for this school because it is bad grammar. I feel like its very unfit because this school is known for research and they should be thorough about what their motto is. It also seems very short and seems rather awkward.

-Vinnie

http://www.dailyuw.com/news/article_66c479de-c6c0-5960-82d9-b9b75c1deac4.html 

Amherst College Motto

The motto for Amherst College is Terras Irradeint. This is translated to “Let them give light to the world” according to the college website. I could not find why or who chose the motto but on June 7, 1825, the college started work on an emblem that would incorporate the motto on it. I believe that this is a very good motto for a school to use. Since any school would hope that their students will go on and positively impact the world I believe that this motto portrays that. The Amherst College website says that “Amherst College educates students of exceptional potential from all backgrounds so that they may seek, value, and advance knowledge, engage the world around them, and lead principled lives of consequence.” I don't know if this motto would be particularly good for this school but would say that it would be a good motto for any school to have. 

Andrew Sincovec

https://www.amherst.edu/amherst-story/facts/mission

https://www.amherst.edu/library/archives/exhibitions/seal

https://www.amherst.edu/

Trinity College Motto

The motto for Trinity College is Pro Ecclesia Et Patria.  This is translated in English to For Church and Country.  This motto was selected in 1845 when Trinity College created its seal.  Trinity College on their website did not provide any information on who came up with the motto.  However, they probably used this motto because they are a religious school and that they used to be named after George Washington, hence the Church and Country parts of the motto.  On the seal, there is another Latin phrase that says The Seal of the College of the Most Holy Trinity.  For most colleges this motto would not be a good choice for them.  This is because most colleges aren't associated with a church.  However, those reasons are exactly why this motto fits perfectly for this college.  Trinity College is associated with a church and was named for George Washington, meaning this motto resembles perfectly what the college is.

Connor Baldwin

https://www.trincoll.edu/abouttrinity/history-traditions/traditions/

University of Chicago-Crescat scientia, vita excolatur

University of Chicago

Crescat scientia, vita exoclatur

English Translation: Let knowledge grow from more to more; and so be human life enriched

After the university was founded in 1890, by 1910, with the help of the founders and the first president of the university, the motto was selected. They selected based on their guiding principle, "a commitment to rigorous academics for people of all backgrounds, including 'opportunities for all departments of higher education to persons of both sexes on equal terms.'"

This is a good motto for a school in general because the purpose of education and expanding knowledge is to enrich life. This is also fitting to this school specifically because the first Nobel laureate from the school won a Nobel Prize for his breakthroughs in measuring the speed of light. He was the first to win a Nobel Prize in any of the sciences.

The first president of the university, William Rainey Harper, made it his mission to find the best teachers to make "a modern research university that would combine an English-style undergraduate college and a German-style graduate research institute". This fits the motto well because these people sought more information and more knowledge in order to enrich the lives of students.

Maddy Collins

Source: https://www.uchicago.edu/about/history/

College Blog Post - Princeton

For my college I chose Princeton. Their motto is Dei sub numine viget which translates to Under God’s power she flourishes.  Princeton was once called the University of New Jersey, but when it changed to Princeton in 1896, the motto changed as well. I believe that this is a good motto for this school and it makes sense for Princeton because it is such an old school. It seems as though the older schools’ mottos are always something religious, and this is no exception. I do think that Princeton was a little ahead of their time by using a female in the motto, as most of the time men were used. I do think that using a religious motto can seem a little exclusive to some people, though. 

https://www.princeton.edu/frist/iconography/p27.shtml 

SMU - Veritas Liberabit Vos

This motto means “the truth will make you free” and it was selected in 1912 by the first president of SMU, President Hyer. The motto is displayed on the giant seal in Dallas Hall and is a part of modern ceremonies. When my sister had her convocation for SMU, she had to walk through Dallas Hall and across the motto/seal. This motto was chosen because SMU believes that the key to a great life (freedom), is education (truth). The motto Veritas Liberabit Vos is appropriate for SMU because SMU stands for the best education and knowledgeable people who value education attend SMU. Clearly, SMU has one of the best education systems since my sister chose to go there (I guess I'm a little biased). Even if one is not biased for SMU like me, they can agree that one will gain freedom/truth through education. For example, Frederick Douglas, a knowledgeable slave that was born in the 19th century wrote: “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” Veritas Liberabit Vos is a good motto for SMU because it represents SMU's belief of the value of education.

Charlotte Eades

https://www.smu.edu/EnrollmentServices/Registrar/AcademicCeremonies/AboutUs/History/Motto
https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/18943.Frederick_Douglass

Modus Operandi

The legal term “Modus Operandi” means Method of Operation, but can also be translated as “Mode of Working”.  In legal terms, it can be used to label crimes that have a similar pattern. “Mode of Working” means how a person committed a crime, and is also used in court cases. For example, if someone robbed a bank using a NERF™ Gun, the NERF™ Gun would be their M.O.* because they used the gun to commit the crime. There are examples of the term as far back as the 1650s. Though it is similar to the word motive, having a classification for an M.O. is super important. M.O’s play a huge part in court cases and sentencing. There is a reason why it’s still around today. Personally, I think that “Modus Operandi” is better than saying the English equivalent. This is because humans are inherently lazy, and saying “This person committed the crime by…” is much harder than saying “Their M.O. is…”. Besides laziness, I also think that implementing latin words into your speech makes you sound smarter. By saying “M.O.”, you can live out your T.V. Law and Order(dun dun) dreams.

Sophie Pong

http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/M/Modusoperandi.aspx

https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/modus+operandi

https://www.britannica.com/topic/disorderly-conduct

https://www.etymonline.com/word/modus%20operandi

*In this post, "M.O." is used as a substitute for "Modus Operandi"