University Publishes Bizarre 'Offensive' Words List: Beware of Bunnies, Eggs, Gifts, Terrorists and America

Michigan State University has published a list of seemingly harmless words on its website that it deems offensive, in an attempt to bring its vocabulary into “alignment with strategic efforts around diversity, equity and inclusion.”

Among the terms deemed offensive are “gift,” “bunny,” “female,” “America,” and “Christmas tree.” According to the university’s Inclusive Guide, such words should be avoided in favor of more inclusive alternatives.

For example, students should not refer to their classmates as freshmen or upperclassmen, but rather as “first-year” and “advanced” students, to avoid “male-centric and western father-son language.”

The word “female” is considered a pejorative term that reduces women to their assumed biological anatomy.

Also, words like “crazy,” “nuts,” and “loony” are labeled as “ableist language” and should be replaced with “silly,” “absurd,” or “outrageous.”

Why is college tuition so high? Administrative bloat.

“Michigan State University’s new vice president/chief diversity and inclusion officer (CDO), Jabbar Bennett, was offered a cool $315,000 per year salary, as well as a $700 ‘monthly vehicle allowance.'”https://t.co/2B2yzIfifD

— Colin Wright (@SwipeWright) November 10, 2020

The list of “offensive” words is seen as the latest example of the war on free speech taking place on college campuses, where authoritarian dictates exclude those who cannot keep up with the ever-growing list of supposedly offensive terms.

For instance, the word “terrorist” is considered a “judgmental label” that should be avoided, and referring to the United States as “America” is deemed “American-centric” and “first-world language.”

The guide also cautions against “references to majority religious imagery and language,” especially during holidays such as Easter and Christmas.

This includes avoiding terms like “bunnies,” “eggs,” “chicks,” “merry,” “Christmas trees,” “wreaths,” “holly,” “bells,” and “gifts.” Even the word “reindeer” is considered inappropriate.

Michigan State University is not alone in this endeavor to police language. Other universities, such as Indiana University at Bloomington, the University of Texas at Austin, Brandeis University, and the University of San Francisco, have similar lists of words they consider offensive.

Stanford University also recently faced backlash for releasing its own language guide, which claimed that “American,” “immigrant,” and “walk-in hours” are offensive terms. The school later retracted the list.

These lists teach students that words can cause harm and that speech is violent, leading to situations where students feel “unsafe” and throw tantrums when they encounter words they find offensive.

This was recently exemplified at Stanford, when a hundred law students heckled a Trump-appointed federal judge during a talk on campus.

Such language policing contributes to a crisis of self-censorship, with 83% of students reporting that they feel the need to watch what they say on campus.

Universities are publishing lists of “problematic” language, and some are even setting up bias hotlines for offensive speech to be reported to campus authorities.

The primary purpose of education is to engage with challenging, provocative, and even offensive ideas in order to learn and grow.

College and university staff should be fostering free expression on their campuses, but instead, they are preoccupied with ensuring that no one uses words like “bunny.”

As American higher education appears to have lost its focus, the rest of the country is grappling with a struggling economy and rising crime rates.

Meanwhile, campus administrators are busy protecting students from any mention of “eggs” and “holly.”

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