Professors Afraid to Speak, Even to Each Other - Report

WASHINGTON - Jan. 9, 2025 - PRLog -- According to a study, professors are increasingly reluctant to speak because they know that uttering even a single non-derogatory word can trigger a formal investigation and cancellations, as well as social and professional ostracism, notes public interest law professor John Banzhaf.

The findings:
■ A majority of professors refrain from using certain words out of fear that they might offend colleagues or students.
■ More specifically, many refrain from using terms they believe might be perceived as offensive by students (62%), administrators (57%), and even by other faculty members (57%).
■ More than half said they've often or occasionally "altered language" in something they've written out of worry "it might cause controversy."
■ And more than half "felt concerned" about their ability to express what they "believe, as a scholar, to be correct statements about the world."
■ More than 60% said they "modify or refrain from using particular terms or words" when interacting with students.
■ And more than 30% said they have felt constrained regarding what they "can say in faculty and department meetings,"

Perhaps the most outrageous example of attempts to censor the use of a single non-derogatory word occurred at Harvard Law School where professors were asked not use the word "violate" (even in "that violates the law") because it might cause students distress.

Another example occurred at Banzhaf's own George Washington University [GWU] when a law student, in a private conversation. allegedly used the word "Jew"; referring to the group as someone's "Jew friends" (one version) or "the Jews" (a different version).  The use of a single non-derogatory word in a private conversation led to an official investigation by GWU's bias response investigators.

Another example at GWU occurred when a tenured professor was ordered to re[prt because someone complained that he had used "rude" words when he ordered a woman to leave a building.  This was all the more remarkable and shocking since neither the women, nor the building in which she was trespassing, had any affiliation with GWU or any other university.

If professors of all people, with the many protections of tenure, are afraid to use even non-derogatory words such as "violated" and "Jew," even when talking with like-minded colleagues - much less in academic forums and papers, or in classroom discussions - research and much needed discussions about important topics such as the rights of M2F transgender students (should they be called "women"), the need for affirmative action (can it be called "racial preferences"), conflicts regarding Israel (is criticism "anti-Semitic"), or even abortion (is it "murder" of an unborn "child") is stifled, argues Banzhaf.

http://banzhaf.net/ jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com @profbanzhaf