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Pennsylvania State University will be removing gendered and binary terms from its course and program descriptions.
The university’s Faculty Senateapproved a measurelast month that recommends moving away from terms like “freshman” and “upperclassman” in favor of other designations, such as “first-year” or “upper division.
“It is time to close the loop and ensure that all people are not only able to choose their name & gender identity within our systems, but that these documents and systems are also structured to be inclusive from the start,” the University Faculty Senatewebsitereads.
Additionally, the measure suggests avoiding negative connotations associated with students who take longer to complete their degree programs.
“Undergraduate years, or Integrated Undergraduate-Graduate programs, that run beyond the typical timeframe, resulting in the nickname ‘super-senior’ would be replaced with fifth-year, and beyond, as needed,” the proposition states.
The reason for such changes is to move beyond the typical “sexist and classist” terms that are commonly used in curriculum. Terms such as “junior” and “senior” hold a connection to “western male father-son naming conventions,” according to the proposition.
The measure suggests changes to all written materials, including recruiting materials, admissions materials, scholarship information, housing materials, other outward-facing documents, internal documents, and websites.
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However, a university spokesperson told PEOPLE that the Faculty Senate’s decision only pertains to course and program descriptions.
“These changes have occurred at many universities across the nation,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. “We understand and respect that there are different viewpoints on these matters.”
It’s not clear at this time when these changes will go into effect.
source: people.com
