The City of Grand Junction has officially renamed the Grand Mesa the Big Table. City Council voted late last month to change the name after a monthslong campaign by CMU President John Marshall. When asked about the campaign, Marshall clarified that he doesn’t actually want the name to change. 

“I love the Grand Mesa as much as everyone else,” he said at a City Council meeting on April 16. “But with English being the official language now, it’s in the best interest of our shareholders to pre-emptively rename everything that’s even mildly ethnic sounding.”

Marshall was referring to E.O. 14224, which President Trump signed on March 1 to designate English as the official language of the United States.

While pushback on campus was almost unanimous, CMU’s Western Culture Club praised the decision. 

“It’s great to see a more American name in our community,” a post on the club’s Instagram account read. “Mexican isn’t even a European language.”

Marshall intends to keep fighting for change in Grand Junction. He recently proposed changing CMU’s mascot from the maverick to the rhinoceros beetle, citing its lack of a spine.