Stanford University is under fire for creating a list of so-called "forbidden words."
The university said the intent of the list is to eliminate many forms of harmful language on Stanford websites, but critics note that one of the words on their list is the word “American.”
Vietnam Veteran Louis Agront, senior of San Jose, says he’s stunned to hear Stanford put "American" on a harmful language list.
“When you go to war and you are on the battlefield, you don't think 'I'm fighting for U.S citizens,' you say what is in your heart,” said Agront. “We are all Americans and should be proud of it.”
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The university says its controversial word list is part of an initiative to eliminate harmful language, especially in internal communication among the school's IT community.
In a statement, it said, “the intent of this particular entry on the EHLI website was to provide perspective on how the term may be imprecise in some specific uses, and to show that in some cases the alternate term 'U.S. citizen' may be more precise and appropriate.”
Some say it makes sense.
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“I would trust what Stanford is doing,” said Jarrett Klein of San Jose. “It’s not meant as a slight.”
John Jennings disagrees.
“I take being American completely serious. So, many people have less freedom than the U.S.A. and to say U.S. citizen doesn't mean anything. I'm American through and through,” he said.
Mary Oreskovic was born in Australia, lived in Canada and just became an American citizen this month. She says the word “American” has special meaning to her and she’ll continue to use it.
“I became an American citizen and I feel I can use it freely and I am happy to use it freely,” she said.
Stanford says it wants to be clear that the word “American” is not banned from the university and it will consider adjustments to the guide based on feedback.
