Courtesy of Breitbart

It’s official: freshmen have been banned from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Administrators have removed the word  from all official documents at the university in order to promote gender neutral language.

(Actually, the motion began in 2009. Reporter John Stossel recently brought attention to the ban while taping a Fox Business Netowkr show at Chapel Hill.)

The new politically correct term is “first-year student.” With the deletion of the the “man” in “freshman,” female students are no longer subject to gender inclusive language.

Regarding the ban, university officials stated:

“We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our community. Consistent with that commitment, gender inclusive terms (chair; first year student; upper-level student, etc.) should be used on University Documents, websites and policies.”

Perhaps the ban rolled off the shoulders of the  liberal-leaning student population. According to one, “a picture of Mitt Romney would offend 70 percent of residence hall students.”

And besides, replacing “freshman” with “first-year student” requires very little effort. It’s just a simple switch of words. But what student has time to think about this, especially at one of the most prestigious colleges in the nation? 

That’s exactly what Brandon Hartness, Executive Vice-Chair of the university’s College Republicans, told CampusReform.org:

 “I feel like they are making a big deal out of nothing. Girls are not going to deem the word [freshman] as sexist.”

Senior, junior, sophomore… first-year student. It doesn’t roll off the tongue as nicely as “freshman.” But if women are offended by the gender inclusive language of school grades, then the university has every right to make this change.

Yet, there was no mention of any female students petitioning the word “freshman” in the news coverage.

Others however are appalled that  people upset over the word ban. Sorrysister, who commented on an article posted by Blisstree.com said:

“You taking offense to the university using a more inclusive word to describe a group of diverse people is a slap in the face to women and feminism.”

Another poster agreed, following with:

“SHOCKING that a male student thinks it’s preposterous — get over yourself, buddy, women (ugh, they’re not “girls” if you’re in college!) are daring to expect equal treatment and vocabulary that doesn’t presume that male is the default setting!”

So, what’s the deal here? Did university officials have nothing better to do than exchange “freshman” with “first-year student” because they thought female students were offended? Or is this support of gender-neutral language another example of  our progressive generation?

What do you think?