Michigan State University is the latest school to take on a drastic diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative.
As a part of this initiative, the school released an Inclusive Guide. In it, the guide lists words that people should not use because they are offensive. The list includes words like female, bunny, gift, and America.
Various other words are also discouraged for one offensive reason or another. For example, you shouldnt refer to first-year students as freshmen because that is male-centric language when we use the word female, which reduces women to assumed biological anatomy. Words like crazy and nuts are also on the list. However, you can call people outrageous. Saying the word terrorist has been deemed judgemental. We want to take special precautions not to offend terrorists. Its also essential to avoid the terms obese or overweight. Instead, we should use inclusive words like larger-bodied.
Religious holidays, and any language referring to them, are included on the list of words to avoid. Saying words related to these holidays, such as eggs, reindeer, wreath, Christmas tree, Easter, or even present, can be highly offensive.
Referring to the United States as America can be highly offensive because thats just something we said in the first world, and its considered a first-world language. When we do that, it excludes other parts of the world, which are also the Americas, such as countries located in South or Central America.
Michigan State University isnt the first school to break out a list of offensive words. The University of San Francisco and Brandeis University have done similar things. Stanford even jumped on the bandwagon as they claim that the phrase walk-in hours are offensive.
As campuses across the nation dictate what can and cant be said, it impacts students. According to The NY Post, Thats exactly what happened earlier this month at Stanford when a hundred heckling students derailed a Trump-appointed federal judges talk on campus. These hecklers with hurt feelings were law students. This is what higher education has turned into.
Students agree that its too much. Audrey Whipple is an MSU student who speaks out against inclusive language. According to wwmt.com, This is an annual guide, so theyre constantly updating their communications and whats deemed offensive, or what language should be avoided, but this year [MSU] just took it too far, Whipple told TND. These everyday words are now deemed harmful, and its created this hyper-sensitivity and social pressure because now Im so focused on exactly how to word emails -- and Im sure professors feel the same way -- that now the focus is being taken off the courses when there is so much pressure not to be offensive, not be harmful with everyday language.
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