College of William & Mary administrators have told faculty and staff to stop using the word “retard,” as the result of a student government initiative. In an email to staff, Dean of Undergraduate Students Kelly Joyce asked asked staff to “please remember to consider the terms used in lectures and class discussion. For example, the word retarded has returned in slang usage to mean dumb or stupid, but this is not an appropriate way to use the word in class.”
According to the Flat Hat, at least one, unnamed faculty member at the school wasn’t pleased with the email:
“My negative reaction to the email message from the dean was because a member of the College administration apparently thinks she needs to instruct over 500 highly accomplished and professional faculty members at the College that we should behave with decency in class. Wow, thanks for the guidance!” this professor said. “Unless I am totally out to lunch on this, there is no brewing epidemic of mean spirited classroom references at the College, so in my view at least, the proper way to handle such matters when they do occur is via one-on-one conversations and warnings, ideally conducted in private where they are most likely to be effective.”
[Flat Hat]
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