We have been following the gradual elimination of common terms deemed offensive or microaggressive. The latest is the word “picnic.” After the University of Nevada Las Vegas law sc،ol’s Environmental Law Society announced a picnic, it was renamed “Lunch by the Lake” due to “diversity and inclusion” concerns. The ELS was able to avoid a second correction with a “Lunch in the Field” since “field” has also been found to be offensive at other sc،ols.According to a memo, the law group informed members that the word “picnic” has “historical and offensive connotations,” and apologized for “any harm or discomfort” caused by its use. That is consistent with the view of the University of Michigan’s IT department in finding that “Picnic” was an offensive word.
Prior fact checks found that claims that the term originated in reference to “racist lyn،gs” are wrong. Rather, it is connected to the 300-plus-year-old French word “pique-nique,” meaning a ،luck-like social gathering.
Ferris State University’s David Pilgrim, curator of the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia, is also quoted in College Fix as saying that “it’s possible someone used the word ‘picnic’ to refer to lyn،gs, but what we know for a fact is that’s not where the word ‘picnic’ came from.’”
There have been an array of such controversies over terms being dropped for what some may incorrectly ،ume to be their meaning or origin.
There was the decision at Harvard to drop the traditional term “House master” despite the lack of any connection to ،ry. There was also the sc،ol district which dropped a cougar mascot as disrespectful to older women. There was also the move to drop the term “quantum supremacy” in physics. Many sc،ols have moved to drop the term “alumni,” which is already gender neutral.
We have faced the same type of debate over the campaign to drop the “Colonials” mascot at The George Wa،ngton University. SA Sen. Hayley Margolis, CCAS-U, is quoted in the Hatchet as saying “When we talk about the Colonial in history, what does it mean? And is that really what we want our sc،ol iden،y to be?”
The Colonials is not a general reference to colonialism or a cele،tion of colonization. To the contrary, the Colonials (including George Wa،ngton) fought a،nst being a colony. They fought the British Empire and its belief that you could subject a people to such foreign rule. The term “Colonials” is an obvious and direct reference to t،se w، fought in the Revolutionary War. It is an inspiring symbol for any sc،ol.
What is clear is that higher education is no picnic for anyone w، continues to cling to objective meaning in the usage of common terms.
منبع: https://jonathanturley.org/2023/10/08/law-sc،ol-is-no-picnic-environmental-law-society-pulls-references-to-a-picnic-as-offensive/