Back in the ‘60s and ‘70s, Brandeis University, in Waltham, Massachusetts ( named after the famous American jurist, Louis Brandeis) had an excellent academic reputation. Truth be told, I accepted Brandeis as my backup school, in case I was not accepted at Harvard in the early ‘70s.
If I were a Brandeis alumnus today, I would be very very embarrassed. In fact, old man Brandeis, who was a huge advocate of freedom of speech, especially offensive speech, if he were alive today, would want his name removed from this poor excuse of a liberal college that bears his name.
Trigger warning, the very, very, woke snowflakey students of Brandeis have come out with the most ridiculous list of banned words and phrases that should not be uttered on the Brandeis campus because such words may be offensive for a whole bunch of crazy wackadoodle reasons, relating to gender, sex, race and identity. In other words, day to day, everyday life.
For example, the very phrase, “
trigger warning”, is verboten because it conjures up an image of guns and violence. “
Crazy” is another banned word because it may be offensive to the mentally ill.
The phrase, “
you guys”, is a very bad “no no” because it is gender specific and exclusionary and Brandeis clueless U, suggests that phrase should be replaced, by the following, "Y'all, folks or folx, friends, loved ones, people".
Another banned word is “
picnic”, because it is somehow associated with Black men being lynched. Is that “crazy”? Whoops, I mean not rational?
Noted writer, Joyce Carol Oates, to her credit, upon reading this ridiculous banned list, legitimately mocked Brandeis U and this list by questioning why the word, “picnic” was banned but not the more triggering ( Whoops) descriptive word, “lynching”, was not.
Other words or phrases on the banned list, for apparent producing violent mini reactions,
“
to take a stab at it”
“
Rule of thumb”. Apparently in olden England women could be legally hit as long as the stick
was not wider than a thumb.
“
Freshman,
Congressman and
policeman” are also on the list for being gender specific and exclusionary. Obviously, for these Brandeis deadheads, the word, “policeman” is a double and triple no no, for being exclusionary and inviting violent images of policemen trying to keep the peace.
I assume the very word, “deadheads” ( supporters of the band, the Grateful Dead) is a very bad term, implying, Oh no! people may die some day.
As a Harvard grad, I should not feel so smug and superior (is “superior” also a banned word?) because my own woke Harvard alma mater, banned the word “
master”, as in the head of Harvard Houses, i.e. my own Master Zeph Steward of Lowell House in the ‘70s. Apparently Harvard feared that Black students would associate the word, ”master” with “master/servant” back in the days of US southern plantations pre-Civil War and hence be triggered.
In actual historic fact, the word, “master” had nothing to do with the antebellum south, but was borrowed by Harvard in the ‘20s from the English Oxford College System, in which Oxford colleges were headed and led by “dons” or “masters”.
Note in the ‘70s, during my three Harvard upper school years at Lowell House, not one of my fellow male or female Black students, or any of my fellow non Black students residing at Lowell House ever once was triggered, upset or even mildly disturbed by the great and kindly Master Zeph Stewart and/or use of the phrase, “master” in the context of the head of our Harvard House.
Perhaps we students of the ‘70s were made of sterner stuff or the “right stuff”. Oops, did I just trigger those overly sensitive liberal snowflakey Brandeis students again?
