University of Michigan students were given the freedom to choose their preferred pronouns. This is part of the school's efforts to shed light on diversity and inclusion.
It was previously reported that the University of Michigan has recently announced that it is allowing students to indicate their preferred gender pronoun on class rosters. A pronoun committee, composed of faculty and staff members, has developed this process since last year.
A preferred pronoun is a gender pronoun which is used to identify an individual. Other people are also expected to use it when referring to the person.
"Students can designate pronouns in Wolverine Access through the new Gender Identity tab within the Campus Personal Information section," provost Martha Pollack and E. Royster Harper, vice president for student life, wrote. "This page will be used to enter/update and/or delete pronoun information with the University."
University President Mark Schlissel noted that the plan is to work towards making the University community "look like the public it serves. "There aren't numerical quotas - that's not either legal or desirable - there's a shared ambition and we're trying to release the creativity of all of our different units," he added.
University of Michigan students can choose from several preset pronouns. They can also write their own designated personal pronoun.
Recently, though, one student decided to go with an interesting preferred pronoun. According to The College Fix, Grant Strobl, student at UM and chairman of the Young Americans for Freedom Board of Governors, changed his preferred pronoun to "His Majesty."
Apparently, this is an attempt to point out that the new policy has no basis in reality. Strobl revealed to the publication that he understands that it is respectful to refer to students in their preference. However, he has a problem with the university's institutionalization of the use of pronouns, where a sanction is possible for people who don't refer to others in the way that they prefer.