Stop calling me LYNN

SMU is supposed to be informal environment and we call (used to) the professors by their first name. But, I was so annoyed by people calling me LYNN cos it's my surname. I understand those who can't pronounce my first and middle names and appreciate trying to pronounce though 99% of the time it is wrong. But, I really hate those think I'm a girl cos my last name is LYNN and call me (espeically over the phone) Ms. LYNN. In SMU, we follow a tradition of writing surname in capital letter but most staff (esp CIT though they are in charge of creating account/email) call me Ms. LYNN. Though LYNN is a girl name (only in Singapore content), don't you have a brain to think how a surname can be a girl's name. Some even claimed that LYNN is a girl name though they are not familiar with English literature and culture. If you can't pronounce my first name, you should know I'm not a local and respect my culture where LYNN in Burmese is unisex just like that in Britain or the States.

If you don't believe there are many Mr. LYNN's in western countries where the name orginiated from, don't a look here:

Jerry LYNN, an American professional male Wrestler and a WWF champion.

Actually there was (or still is?) one prof in SMU called Prof LYNN.

So for those who can't pronounce someone's name,

1) Check whether it's a local name or not.

2) If yes, follow your local (only limited to 3 million plus people) tradition

3) If not, check where that person is from and appreciate their culture

4) If you can't check his/her origin, then STOP guessing it. (You can always refer to the GENDER)

5) If you are from SMU, Surnames are always in capital letter. (So stop calling Kyaw LYNN which are my middle and surname)