Shutterstock
I would like to meet someone who is outraged by the phrase “upperclassman” or “freshman”. If you are one of those people, please email me at eric.italiano@teamcoed.com to explain to me how on Earth you have the time or energy to be upset about the word freshman.
Sounds ridiculous, right? Well, apparently not, because this Massachusetts high school has now joined the growing list of schools that are doing away with such phrases for more “gender-neutral” terms.
Look, I’m all for sexual identity (not sure if that’s the proper nomenclature, but roll with me). You want to be gender non-binary? Be gender non-binary. You want to be both a male and a female? Go ahead. Want to get plastic surgery to turn yourself into a purple giraffe? None of my business. But at what point is the gender-neutralization of benign terms become ridiculous? I understand the whole bathroom thing, I really do, but if you have an issue with the word “upperclassman”, that’s a you problem, not an us problem — that’s just facts.
via ABC:
The change was recommended by a Gender and Sexuality Alliance Group at the school. The group went through the school’s handbook and came up with suggestions on how the language could be more gender neutral.
“Currently High School students would have the right of free speech to use the term ‘freshmen’,” James Winston, Esq., told WWLP. “The school would have a very high bar to show that there was some type of harm that would happen with that term being used.”
The school’s superintendent released a statement making it clear that students could still say freshmen if they choose to.
Easthampton High School was recently instructed to undergo diversity and inclusion training after being investigated by the Attorney General’s office for racial incidents at the school.
You just watch — give it another 5 or so years and we’ll be debating whether we should rename “mankind” — that’s where we’re headed at this rate.
