Stanford University blocked a “harmful language” guide that described words and phrases it planned to remove from its website and computer code, limiting access to only people with an internal login.
The Harmful Language Elimination Initiative is a Stanford University project that was announced in May and aims to “address harmful language in IT at Stanford,” according to the website.
According to the guidance, its goal is to eliminate “many forms of harmful language,” including “racist, violent, and biased language (eg, disability bias, ethnic bias, ethnic slurs, gender bias, implied bias, sexual bias )”. that’s on the Stanford website and codes, and it’s also aimed at educating others about the impact words can have.
After the guide’s rejection, Stanford University made the web page accessible only to people with an internal login.
STANFORD PUBLISHES GUIDE TO ELIMINATE ‘HARMFUL LANGUAGE’ AND CAUTIONS AGAINST CALLING US CITIZENS ‘AMERICAN’
A view of the Hoover Tower and the Stanford University campus as seen from Stanford Stadium.
(David Madison/Getty Images)
The guide has 10 “harmful language” sections: disabled, ageism, colonialism, culturally appropriate, gender-based, imprecise language, institutionalized racism, people first, violence, and additional considerations.
Included in the words considered harmful is “abort,” and the guidance states that it should be replaced with “cancel” or “terminate,” citing concerns around the word “abortion.”
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Stanford University on a phone
(fake images)
The guidance also states that the word “American” should be replaced with “US citizen,” and explains that “American” is used when referring to “persons of the USA only, thus insinuating that the United States is the most important country in the Americas”.
Another word the guide considers harmful is “preferred” pronouns, explaining that “preferred” suggests that “non-binary gender identity is a choice and preference.”
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After the guide’s rejection, Stanford University made the web page accessible only to people with an internal login.
(Reuters)
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a Stanford University spokesperson told Fox News Digital that “Stanford’s style guidelines are intended for internal use, often for individual work groups. In this case, the website of EHLI was specifically created by the university and intended to be used”. IT community. It will continue to be refined based on continued input from the community.”
In a message Tuesday, Steve Gallagher, Stanford’s chief information officer, said the website is not university policy.
“First and most importantly, the website does not represent University policy. It also does not represent mandates or requirements. The website was created by and is intended for discussion within the Stanford IT community. It provides ‘suggested alternatives’ for various terms, and the reasons why those terms might be problematic in certain usages. Its aspiration, and the reason for its development, is to support an inclusive community,” Gallagher said.
He also said they “missed the mark” when it came to the guide’s treatment of “American.”
“We have heard concerns in particular about the guide’s treatment of the term ‘American’. We understand and appreciate those concerns. To be very clear, the use of the term ‘American’ is not only not prohibited at Stanford, but is absolutely welcome. The intent of this particular entry on the EHLI website was to provide perspective on how the term may be imprecise in some specific usages, and to show that in some cases the alternative term “US citizen” may be more accurate and appropriate. clearly missed the mark in this presentation,” said
