The University of Nevada Reno (UNR) vowed to refrain from using a slew of words in campus communication, including the phrase “Native Nevadan,” for fear that it may offend the Indigenous population.
UNR’s Office of Marketing and Communication introduced its inclusion, diversity, and equity guide on communication, along with selections from the Associated Press’ updated gender and sexual orientation guidelines. The document requests that staff acquiesce and avoid using terms that could be dubbed harmful to progressive gender ideology.
The guide claims that language is “pervasive and powerful” and phrases such as “native Nevadan” may be considered offensive or disrespectful to “Indigenous people who truly are native to the land here in Nevada.”
“Instead, use phrases like born and raised or lived in Nevada their whole life,” the guide reads.
IDEAL Guide
Words considered inappropriate according to the document include, “child,” “kid,” “girl,” or “boy,” even in situations that refer to a parent/guardian relationship. Staff is encouraged to avoid using titles such as “Mr.,” “Ms.,” “Mrs.,” and avoid using “gendered academic terms” whenever possible. Examples include using “chair member” in lieu of “chairman” or “chairwoman.”
“In general, use terms that can apply to any gender,” the guide reads. “Such language aims to treat people equally and is inclusive of people whose gender identity is not strictly male or female.” (RELATED: ‘Chestfeeding’?: Inside The Left’s War On Medical Terminology)
Other unacceptable “gendered” language includes the words “mankind,” “manmade,” and “mistress,” which the guide considers an “archaic and sexist term.” Unacceptable forms of “ageism” include references to individual generations, such as “Gen Z.”
The document requests that official university communication also avoid specific political language. Communications can no longer use political identifiers such as “liberal” or “conservative” or “demeaning terminology” such as “leftist” or “right-winged.”
A University of Nevada, Reno spokeswoman told the Daily Caller that the guide is for official university communications, though the university hopes that the guide will be used “beyond official communications.”
“The University of Nevada, Reno’s IDEAL guide is designed to be consulted for official University communications, including content throughout the website, articles on the University news site, social media content and press releases,” spokeswoman Kerri Garcia Hendricks said. “Our hope is that it will [be] used beyond official communications, both as an educational tool and a place to start thinking critically about the language we use.”