The decision to dump the name of Jameson at the University of Cape Town was triple distilled‚ and now the search begins for a replacement that is twice as smooth. The university council has decided to rename Jameson Memorial Hall‚ in line with recommendations from the renaming task team set up in 2015 and the naming committee.The hall will be the first UCT building renamed in the aftermath of the #RhodesMustFall campaign that led to the removal of the statue of Cecil John Rhodes last year.In December 1895‚ at the behest of Cape Colony prime minister Cecil Rhodes‚ Leander Starr Jameson mounted a raid on the Transvaal in an attempt to overthrow the Boer government.The invasion was a debacle and the raid later named after Jameson was cited by Winston Churchill as a major factor in bringing about the Boer War of 1899 to 1902.UCT’s Naming of Buildings Committee said it was “clear from the evidence afforded by respected historians that Jameson’s ruthless self-interest manifested in a profound lack of respect for other people".Vice-chancellor Max Price said: "Notable in this regard was his decision with a coterie of like-minded doctors deliberately to misdiagnose an outbreak of smallpox in Kimberley in 1883 to prevent the absconding from the mines of black labourers."The infamous Jameson Raid‚ for which he was imprisoned in England‚ and the wars against the Matabele in what was to become Rhodesia‚ are other examples of his ruthlessness and his role in exploiting and oppressing local communities."The task team has suggested that the hall be named simply Memorial Hall‚ or "one of Imbizo‚ Lekgotla‚ Pitso‚ Kgoro‚ which all mean a meeting or gathering place‚ or their Khoisan equivalent".Price said other names were under discussion.He said the task team considered arguments for the retention of the name‚ expressed as a deep respect for the foundational moment of the university."However‚ (it) concluded instead that the university is a living organism and as time passes successive generations of students‚ who then become alumnae/i‚ must also be given the opportunity to reflect on the ethos of the institution and inscribe in turn their interpretation in names given to buildings.“The naming of buildings is an emotional issue and care should be taken in selecting names that illustrate what is at the heart‚ and in the name‚ of a ‘university’‚ that is‚ its ‘universality’‚ expressed as a pursuit of equality‚ social justice‚ reconciliation and human promotion - a university’s space is not merely an assemblage of buildings but a human whole that transcends its components. Naming the hall should echo this overarching concern.”Price said the naming committee endorsed the task team’s view that:- The hall that stands proud at the heart of the university‚ and being in this respect out of the ordinary‚ should have a name that would straddle the distinction between a “proper name” and a “functional name” so as to reflect its exceptionality;- A thoughtful change of name would elicit support;- A new name should evoke something easily recognisable‚ and with which students‚ academics‚ staff and parents could identify when they congregate in the hall; and- The name should evoke what is performed in the hall‚ that is‚ a celebration of togetherness around the communal search for knowledge.The committee and the task team will meet in July to discuss the process for selecting the new name.Price said: "This change offers us an opportunity both to make a definitive break with a past that we are not all part of‚ and to help define a future UCT that is much more inclusive and respectful of our different histories‚ cultures and aspirations."It is symbolic of a transformation not only on our campus‚ but more importantly of our attitudes and values."..