Yet another college campus is being subjected to the endless demands of woke censors who insist on ridding everyday speech of words that they deem offensive.
This year’s version of Michigan State University’s style guide includes a supplemental “inclusive” style guide for communications department staffers which includes a list of terms to avoid, such as “female” and “America,” as well as terms relating to Christian holidays, like “Christmas trees,” “bells,” and “bunnies.”
The guide lists words to avoid under four categories: “Gender and Sexuality,” “Race and Ethnicity,” “Global Identity,” and “Disability,” but MSU also said that the “inclusive” guide “is not comprehensive in scope.”
“In alignment with strategic efforts that advance diversity, equity and inclusion, the supplemental Inclusive Guide is a resource that provides best practices for communications on an increasingly diverse global campus,” the university said.
Under the “Gender and Sexuality” section, MSU advocates for using terms that support radical gender theories. In an effort to avoid “assuming” someone’s biological sex, MSU recommends avoiding the word “female” because it “reduces women to their assumed biological anatomy.” MSU made no mention of avoiding the term “male,” however. “Nickname” can also be considered offensive because it “implies that a person’s name is a substitute for their legal name,” MSU claimed.
A previous version of the style guide warned communications staff against using “majority religious imagery and language,” especially during the winter and spring seasons. Those problematic words, according to the university, include: “merry,” “Christmas trees,” “wreaths,” “holly,” “bells,” “gifts,” “reindeer,” “bunnies,” “eggs” and “chicks.” Instead, MSU encourages staffers to use the phrases “wishing you a wonderful winter/spring break” or “best wishes for the new year.”
The “inclusive” style guide — which doesn’t apply to academics, medical, legal, or other specialized categories — was updated in recent days, deleting references to those specific words. Now it simply says, “Avoid references to religious imagery and language. Use terms like ‘wishing you a wonderful winter/spring break’ or ‘best wishes for the new year.’”
The previous version of the style guide also cautioned communications staff against using the word “America” when referring to the United States. That warning has been removed in the most recent update.
Under the “Disability” label, MSU writes that it’s wrong to use “ableist language,” which includes words such as: “crazy,” “insane,” “bonkers,” “nuts,” “psycho,” “demented,” “senile,” “loony,” “lunatic,” “psychotic,” “addict,” “invalid,” “vegetable,” “paralyzed,” “lame,” “madhouse,” “tone-deaf,” “spazzing out,” “braindead” or “blindly.”
The terms “obese,” “obesity,” and “overweight” were also labeled problematic by MSU. The university prefers its staff to use “higher weight” or “larger-bodied.”
“MSU’s inclusive communication guide is a resource for communications professionals and leaders to strengthen the sense of belonging among our diverse university community,” MSU Deputy Spokesperson Dan Olsen told The Daily Wire. “Recently, some have expressed concern about the perception that the university is banning the use of specific terms. We want to be clear: that is inaccurate. That said, we recognized it was important that we update the guide to ensure our intent matches the guidance provided in the document.”