fbpx
Breaking Campus News. Launching Media Careers.
Here are 7 words and phrases the campus PC police tried to banish in 2020

It seems like, year after year, the number of words we Americans are allowed to say continues to shrink.

That trend is particularly evident on college campuses, where almost once a month there’s a newly deemed offensive or non-inclusive word students and faculty are encouraged to avoid.

Over the last 12 months The College Fix has chronicled several examples, striving to keep tabs on the ever-expanding list of verboten words and phrases, according to the campus PC police.

Low-hanging fruit: At an event led by Elgin Community College’s Multicultural and Global Initiatives Committee, it was explained that the term reminds people of color of Billie Holiday’s song “Strange Fruit.” In the song, released in the 1950s, Holiday compares the bodies of lynching victims to fruit hanging from trees.

Grandfathering: The Wake County Public School system in North Carolina no longer will use “grandfathering” because of the word’s racist background. All it took was a complaint from just one parent.

Picnic: The University of Michigan’s Information and Technology Service’s “Words Matter Task Force” has decided the word picnic should be avoided. It’s unclear why. In IT parlance, picnic is an acronym for “Problem in Chair, Not In Computer.”

Brown bag: This is another one courtesy of the University of Michigan’s Information and Technology Service’s “Words Matter Task Force.” The suggested alternative? “Lunch and learn.” One can only assume this one refers to a class-struggle of some sort, but it’s hard to truly understand what goes on in the mind of leftists.

Brother/sister: Thanks to the University of Maryland Baltimore County’s “Evolving World of Inclusive Language” event, we now know the terms brothers and sisters are offensive. Presenter Ever Hanna, “who identifies as a trans and non-binary person, provided examples of how gendered language, such as sister and brother, can exclude people because it is so entrenched in binary language norms,” according to the university’s website.

Expectant mothers: Did you hear? Harvard Medical School has begun calling expectant mothers “birthing people” to be more inclusive of, well — let’s see. Men who give birth?

Snowflake: Yes, Portland State University considers the slang term “snowflake” a potential form of “harassment and intimation.”

Stay tuned for what comes next year. 2021 is sure to bring more word shaming from the left, unfortunately.

MORE: Student told phrase ‘long time, no see’ derogatory toward Asians

IMAGE: Way Home Studios / Shutterstock

Like The College Fix on Facebook / Follow us on Twitter

Please join the conversation about our stories on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, MeWe, Rumble, Gab, Minds and Gettr.

About the Author
Fix Editor
Jennifer Kabbany is editor-in-chief of The College Fix.