Since it was founded 45 years ago, our organisation has been called Linkline. However, as of Summer 2016 the name has been changed to Cambridge Nightline, or just Nightline for short.
Most university towns in the UK have an organisation like ours called Nightline. These organisations are affiliated with an umbrella organisation called the National Nightline Association, and we have been a member of this organisation for many years. The reason we previously had a different name was because we were founded before the Association, and therefore before the Nightline name was established.
For our service to be of maximum benefit, it is important that the students of Cambridge are aware of who we are and what we do. We received feedback from various sources that when people first heard the name Linkline they were confused as to what we did. The main reason we changed our name to Nightline was therefore because we felt it more accurately describes what we do. Another reason was so that we would have the same name as other similar organisations across the country, making us more recognisable.
There were various disadvantages to changing the name identified by volunteers. Primarily, we were concerned that the students of Cambridge would be less aware of our service, because we changed our established name and brand. We have mitigated this by keeping the same phone number and having a redirect on our website. We are also planning a large publicity campaign to make sure that students are aware of us and our new name. Another problem identified was that by calling ourselves Cambridge Nightline, people might think we were more closely affiliated with Cambridge University than with Anglia Ruskin University, which is not the case. For this reason we will advertise just as Nightline.
The change of name was voted through by an overwhelming majority at two consecutive Termly General Meetings, in accordance with our Constitution.
The confidential night-time support service for Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin universities.