Syracuse U. Information Portal Makes Some Students Feel ‘Unseen’ Due to a Limit on Pronouns
“To me, it cements the idea that I must be certain in my gender, or that gender expansiveness is unprofessional”
So many students are so deeply invested in their identity that they seem to need constant validation.
The College Fix reports:
Syracuse U. information portal makes ‘gender-expansive’ students feel ‘unseen’
Syracuse University’s information portal has left “gender-expansive” and transgender students feeling “unseen” due to its limits on personal pronouns.
According to The Daily Orange, the MySlice portal offers a mere six pronoun options: “she/her, he/him, they/them, ze/hir, ‘use my name’ and ‘ask me.’”
MySlice began offering pronoun selections over three years ago.
The lack of choices chagrined SU freshman Abi Greenfield, who identifies as “agender.” Abi uses “they/she” pronouns, a relatively new combination, and apparently MySlice’s “ask me” option is insufficient for they/her.
“The tool I thought would be the holy grail of inclusion and respect in my classes (and beyond) simply did not have a space for my identity,” Greenfield said. To make matters worse, only one of their/her professors had asked students for their preferred pronouns, leaving they/her even more “disillusioned.”
According to Greenfield, “a great deal” of Syracuse students use so-called “mixed” pronouns, and they share their/her misgivings. One, fellow freshman Ben Webster, said he/they were “surprised” at MySlice’s limited options, and as such felt “a bit less seen.”
Evelina Torres said she/they “feel very invalidated” by the limitations: “To me, it cements the idea that I must be certain in my gender, or that gender expansiveness is unprofessional.”
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Comments
Anybody want to talk about “indoctrination?”
“Abi uses “they/she” pronouns, a relatively new combination …”
Why should MySlice (or anyone) have the obligation to cater to your new combination? For that matter, what makes you think you have a right to be “seen?”
More and more these days I am convinced that the single biggest threat to our country and even our world is narcissism. Too many people think the world revolves around them and owes them something.
Just because your 2-year old throws a temper tantrum in the grocery store checkout lane doesn’t mean you should buy them a candy bar to shut them up.
And yet that’s exactly what a ridiculous number of parents do these days. And then they wonder why they have to do it the next time they go to the store, too. And the next, and the next.
My small kids opened a candy bar in the store. I found out. Made them give it to the cashier so I could pay for it. Then I instructed the cashier to THROW IT AWAY in sight of the child. Straight into the garbage. It happened exactly twice in the many years I took my 5 kids grocery shopping – the oldest and the second. The next 3 never tried it, maybe cuz their older siblings were watching them closer than I was in the grocery stores.
Also, my kids would often try the “but I wa-a-a-ant it.” I would respond, “there are a lot of things in this world that we want and do not get. For example, I would like obedient children, but I don’t have that.” It ended the conversation.
The most clinically insane example of this than I have seen was a person who identified as a woman, and was quite upset when her report came back from 23andme showing a Y chromosome. She demanded the company make accommodations for people like her.
It’s annoying already when someone takes offense if you don’t magically know they prefer you to address them by a job title or degree. Self centered narcissists.
To take offense if you fail to refer to them by the proper made-up-pronoun? Narcissism squared.
If you are (say) a college professor who interacts with thousands of students a year it is madness to believe he/she/ze/ whatever is even capable of remembering the insane number of proliferating MUPs – let alone which ones correlate to which students. Currently. Since by definition the MUPs users are free to change their minds every week.
It/its. There, Webster and Torres, FIFY.
.
Snowflakes! I could see children under 10 years old acting this way, but college students? Perhaps Syracuse should review its admission standards.