Talk:University of Queensland/Archive 21

Controversy Section in article
I have no problem with the article having a Controversy Section, and indeed I think this is important for a balanced article, given that Wikipedia is not intended to be a PR mouthpiece. Regarding the UQ article, I am thinking that it may be appropriate to include a reference to the emerging controversy surround Drew Pavlou, the UQ student who organized pro-Hong Kong demonstrations, and who has since been suspended by UQ. My second suggestion concerns an article in the NTEU journal, giving details of a casual academic whose contract was not renewed due to criticism of the University. I am thinking that the NTEU journal would be regarded as a reliable source, although I am not sure whether this would be the sort of thing to be included in the article. Finally, I should also say that I'm also a little dubious about the opening statement within the Controversy Section which notes that, for a long time, UQ students have come from privileged backgrounds. My reservation is that surely this statement could be made about every university in Australia. I look forward to hearing what other editors might think about the above. Lismore287 (talk) 23:58, 30 May 2020 (UTC)
 * Hey! I've removed the entire first section as it was original research - the only sources were datasets from the Department of Education. I've also gone through the entire Drew Pavlou and Confucious Institute sections and have replaced paywall sources, balanced out the perspectives, updated it based on Pavlou's recent failed appeal and lawsuits against the Chinese consul general and UQ. Hopefully it's a bit less biased now. The section about UQ divestment from high emission portfolios though still needs some work. ItsPugle (please use &#123;&#123;reply|ItsPugle}}) 08:22, 24 August 2020 (UTC)

Requested move 27 September 2020

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion. 

The result of the move request was: Not moved. WP:SNOW closure. -- Calidum 17:44, 30 September 2020 (UTC)

University of Queensland → The University of Queensland – The University's style guide specifies its full name as "The University of Queensland", instructing to "capitalise ‘The’ even in the middle of a sentence", as per WP:THEUNI.

University press releases include capital "The" in running text:
 * https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2020/09/uq-and-ibm-launch-centre-of-excellence
 * https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2020/09/survey-explores-impact-of-technology-facilitated-abuse
 * https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2020/09/are-sport-interventions%E2%80%99-kicking-right-goals-indigenous-people
 * https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2020/09/landmark-deal-uq-trinity-inflammation-startup
 * https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2020/09/secret-of-plant-dietary-fibre-structure-revealed
 * https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2020/09/uq%E2%80%99s-new-podcast-seriously-what-engineering

Along with other avenues that the University controls:
 * https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/university/the-university-of-queensland/
 * https://www.facebook.com/uniofqld

Some of the sources stated in the reversion as counter-examples of internal usage were the UQ Union and UQ Cricket Club, but these are student unions and clubs of the University, a separate legal entity not under UQ's control.

In terms of external usage, digging a bit deeper does seem to reveal the correct capitalisation of "The" is unfortunately less common. However, it is certainly not "overwhelmingly rejected" as in Ohio State University:
 * https://theconversation.com/7-6-billion-and-11-of-researchers-our-estimate-of-how-much-australian-university-research-stands-to-lose-by-2024-146672
 * https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/university-queensland
 * https://www.miragenews.com/winners-announced-for-2020-queensland-women-in-stem-awards/
 * https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-government/pms-blunt-warning-on-vaccine-share-it-or-be-judged/news-story/f9bd175808c3e04272b20f7221b057d0
 * https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/university-queensland

The University of Sydney is given as an example on WP:THEUNI where they don't use capitalised "The" in running text and I would agree, even on their homepage when you scroll down to their reconciliation link they say "the University of Sydney". But UQ's reconciliation documents continue to use the University's official style of "The University of Queensland" even in running text.

UQ is a behemoth of an institution with decentralised administration throughout Faculties and Schools, so it is not unusual to see incorrect usage. However it has only been in the last year or two a "One UQ" strategy has been adopted, so with the Office of Marketing and Communication working more across the Uni to solidify branding, we can only expect usage of the correct name to increase and become more consistent hereon. Iusta (talk) 16:50, 27 September 2020 (UTC)


 * That capitalization has not caught on in secondary sources, so I don't see that from WP:THEUNI to be fulfilled. – Thjarkur (talk) 17:46, 27 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Oppose move. Same reason as (The) Ohio State University.  O.N.R.  (talk) 03:36, 28 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Oppose - as per WP:THEUNI, we don't purely rely on corporate resources, but also affiliated media from the university (such as UQ Union and their sporting teams) and non-affiliated coverage. On a more statistical note and as per WP:COMMONNAME, Google Ngram shows that in the majority of scholarly and written sources, "the" is not capitalised - I would personally qualify just this as evidence of an overwhelming objection itself. ItsPugle (please ping on reply) 03:46, 28 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Oppose, making the title less concise is not necessary. BD2412  T 05:06, 28 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Oppose per WP:THE. Using the definite article at the beginning of an article title is discouraged. I don't see a compelling reason to use it here. Rreagan007 (talk) 00:36, 29 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Oppose as above. Not commonly capitalised in running text outside the university. -- Necrothesp (talk) 11:22, 30 September 2020 (UTC)

History section matches, word for word, that from the Queensland Heritage Register
Most, it not all, of the first four paragraphs of the History section matches, word for word, that from the Queensland Heritage Register (https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/heritage-register/detail/?id=601025). It is hard to know who copied from whom, but some editor more skilled than I am in such matters needs to look at this apparent plagiarism and resolve it. Please help! Robert P. O&#39;Shea (talk) 07:55, 6 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I contacted someone at the Queensland Register, who confirmed that the original text was from its web site. I changed the formatting, using blockquote, to show that the first four paragraphs were all quoted from the register's article, giving it the required attribution. I also corrected any minor differences between the Wikipedia article's text and the original, leaving in links and adding others. Robert P. O&#39;Shea (talk) 06:02, 14 March 2021 (UTC)

Proposed edit: bold "The University of Queensland" in article lead (including "The")
WP:OFFICIAL states that "Where an undisputed official name exists", even "that is not the article title", "It should be ... bolded at its first mention"

Even though the consensus was against my earlier move proposal due to the official name not having caught on "unofficially", surely it is not in dispute that the official name of UQ is "The University of Queensland", as per this official University source, and UQ press releases.

No other Queensland universities use "The" in their official name, so it is not possible to draw comparisons there. However, "The" is bolded on the articles for University of Sydney, University of Chicago and Ohio State University, for example.

I therefore propose returning to including "The" in the bolded "The University of Queensland" in the article's lead. Iusta (talk) 16:45, 7 October 2020 (UTC)


 * The definitive citation for the name, not subject to the rulings of marketing people, would surely be the 1909 act of the Queensland state parliment (https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/work-of-assembly/bills-and-legislation/overview). I went to that site today, but the earliest relevant act I could find was from 2001. Moreover, every link I clicked on yielded a "404"! Perhaps a Wikipedian from QUT could wander over to the parliment building to see if it contains a paper copy of the 1909 act. Robert P. O&#39;Shea (talk) 06:31, 5 February 2021 (UTC)


 * I would believe that the best guide would be this act from 1998 which definitively says the name is "The University of Queensland" in section 4(1). This legislation is current and in force, thus would be the correct response. Tbyrn21 (talk) 04:03, 24 May 2021 (UTC)