To Whom It May Concern:

While we strongly believe that our school would benefit from enhanced public relations work with the surrounding community (and many of us have very sound ideas as to how to build more awareness for our school) we do not think that changing the school's name is a step in the right direction. In fact, we the undersigned feel that changing the name of an institution which has existed for more than 30 years conveys a message of uncertainty which does not serve any of us well. 

While we recognize that NYCOM is one school under the umbrella of the NYIT family, we do not think that changing the name - a name which is well-known and well-respected in the medical community - is a well-reasoned decision. If the impetus for the name change is to incorporate the NYIT name more fully into NYCOM's we suggest "NYIT-NYCOM" whereby we maintain our original title and add on a reminder (for those who would not know) that we are affiliated with NYIT. 

Let us help build recognition for our school within the community under it's current name - the name it has always had. NYCOM.  Let us turn the name-change planning meetings scheduled for the coming months into an opportunity for a select number of us to coordinate with the deans and brainstorm smart ideas of how to promote NYCOM in our area!  We are enthusiastic to be put to such a task - it calls on our pride and excitement at an opportunity to represent a school and a philosophy that we strongly believe in.  To be told with no warning that the name of your institution is being changed is disheartening, but to be empowered and recruited to the task of promoting your school and all that it offers to the community is a rallying cry for recognition and a renewed sense of pride and place which could be unparalleled in the history of the school.  Please consider this option.

Please understand that those of us signing this petition do not do so lightly and do so only out of concern and pride for our school. We received our acceptance letters to NYCOM, we have told our patients proudly that we went to NYCOM, we have stayed connected with classmates from our days at NYCOM, we have based careers and indeed lives off of our time and education and careers at NYCOM, and we have made donations to NYCOM. Though it may be easy to say "what's in a name?", please take this petition and our well-reasoned comments as an answer. A lot is in our name. We have taken pride in counting ourselves among the NYCOM family. "WE LOVE NYCOM".

Thank you for your time and attention.