I remember how it was -- JR
UK: Woke University of Kent comes under fire for telling students not to say 'Christian name' or 'surname' because the terms are ‘offensive’
A woke university has been criticised for trying to stop use of the phrase 'Christian name', claiming it is offensive.
The University of Kent has told students to stop using the term because it claims it only relates to Christians. Instead, it suggests students say 'first name' or 'given name' to avoid being offensive.
The university also took against using 'surname' because it derives from 'sire-name' and was therefore deemed to be patriarchal. Guidelines say the term is permitted but discouraged. University bosses instead said 'family name' would be more acceptable.
The recommendations on what students should say in respect to names is listed on the University of Kent's Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity pages online.
But Tim Dieppe, head of policy at advocacy group Christian Concern, told The Telegraph that the institution was 'displaying an irrational fear of using the term "Christian" as if it is something to be ashamed of'.
He added: 'Christianity has provided the moral and spiritual foundation for Western civilisation. This move to police language is another symptom of the abandonment of Christianity.'
Toby Young, founder of the Free Speech Union, said the guidelines were an example of the 'woke movement' attempting to police language considered offensive, and that the trend was imported from American universities.
He added: 'You might even say we've been colonised. Policing language is a hallmark of every totalitarian society.'
The University of Kent said it wanted to create an inclusive community for its students. A spokesperson said: 'These are guidelines not policies.'
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Radical activists try to silence all debate about transgender kids
An elementary school teacher near St. Louis emailed the Washington University Transgender Center at the nearby children’s hospital with a problem: After a fifth-grade student had decided she was trans, a number of her friends decided the same. The teacher didn’t want to “discourage” the children, but suspected there might be “other reasons” the friend group all expressed an interest in switching gender.
The clinic worker was happy to help, emails uncovered by the Daily Mail reveal. It didn’t matter what the teacher’s well-founded suspicions were; she should affirm the choices of all these 10- and 11-year-old children.
Furthermore, anyone who suggested that peer pressure or “contagion” might be an issue in the increase in transgender kids wasn’t “affirming” and “in my personal and professional opinion, invalid.”
Invalid.
That’s become the language of a fringe, radical group of transgender activist who see any questioning of their beliefs, any discussion of momentous societal shifts, as out of bounds. You’re not allowed to even discuss it.
You see it in what’s happening to The New York Times, which had the temerity to publish the most innocuous, basic of articles about transgenderism.
Yet an open letter, addressed to Philip B. Corbett, associate managing editor for standards, and signed by 200 leftist activists, accuses the paper of “editorial bias” in its coverage of the trans population. Somehow The Times is not fair enough about the gender transition pushed on ever-younger children.
What’s preposterous about this letter is that the pieces in question are utterly benign and soft-pedal the issue of kids being pressured to make life-changing decisions about their bodies before they’re old enough to vote.
The Emily Bazelon article “The Battle Over Gender Therapy” came years after Abigail Shrier’s book “Irreversible Damage” first laid out how dangerous pediatric “gender care” had become. Bazelon mentions the book but makes sure to note activists “abhor” it. Bazelon also focuses on the right wing as opponents of children transitioning genders. It’s insane to imagine it’s only the “right wing” who care about permanent damage being done to children in the name of “fixing” their gender identity.
The other article the letter writers find problematic is “When Students Change Gender Identity, and Parents Don’t Know.” Writer Katie J.M. Baker illustrates that parents are upset when their kids are transitioned at school, behind their backs. Well, yes. There’s absolutely nothing controversial about this.
For people who may have felt the issue of children being induced to declare themselves trans was overblown, letters like this expose that it is not.
https://nypost.com/2023/02/16/radical-activists-try-to-silence-debate-on-transgender-kids/
***************************************************Cal State Monterey Bay urges students to report ‘race-related stress’ — like not being called on in class
A California university is urging students of color to report incidents that cause “race-related stress” — such as not being called on by their professor in class.
California State University Monterey Bay’s Personal Growth and Counseling Center offers tips on how students can cope with the “burden of race-related stress” that can lead to psychological distress and even physiological health problems.
“It is important to understand that you can experience race-related stress even if you were mistaken that a racist act occurred. Race-related stress reactions only require that a person believes that they were the target of racism,” the center writes on its website.
To deal with such trauma, the university urges students to document “acts of racism or intolerance,” such as reporting teachers for not calling on them and for offering a “racially biased curriculum.”
“Don’t ignore or minimize your experiences, and think broadly about what could be an act of racism. It doesn’t have to be an overt act (e.g., professor consistently not calling on you or minimizing your contributions, curriculum racially biased, etc). Talk to someone you trust, and report it,” the school urges.
Race-related stress can cause psychological symptoms like anxiety, depression, paranoia and self-blame. It can also affect students’ physical health, potentially leading to heart disease, hypertension, and muscle tension, according to the center.
“Students of color who experience stereotype threat may begin to believe that their peers do not regard them as individuals, but as representatives of their racial/ethnic group,” the page reads.
Other ways the school urges students to deal with the stress is to build a support network of friends and family; positive affirmation and good self-care; embrace their spirituality; take classes or join campus groups to develop a positive cultural identity; and become involved in social action.
The example of reporting teachers for not calling on students of color or offering racially inclusive courses was found under the “social action” section of the webpage.
The counseling center also urges students to “call people out when you witness acts of injustice and intolerance,” but not to ” [accuse] another person of being racist” which can shut “them down and end the conversation.”
“Encourage thoughtfulness and dialogue by addressing racist behaviors and language, without escalating into hostility and name-calling,” the website says.
About 46% percent of students enrolled in the fall 2022 semester were Latino, followed by white students at 29%, Asian Americans at 9%, two or more mixed races at 8% and 3% were African Americans, according to school statistics. Just over 7,000 students are currently enrolled.
https://nypost.com/2023/02/16/cal-state-monterey-bay-urges-students-to-report-race-related-stress/
***********************************My other blogs: Main ones below
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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