Just when you thought you had a handle on the treasonous thought-police infractions known as microagressions, folks at Rutgers University had to go ahead and further muddy the waters of what is and isn’t allowed to be uttered on today’s college campuses.

Since I know you’re all dying to find out, let’s turn to Campus Reform to learn about the latest verbal (and nonverbal) transgressions: “microassaults,” “microinsults’ & “microinvalidations”:

Students in at least one Rutgers University residence hall are being encouraged to use only language that is “helpful” and “necessary” to avoid committing microaggressions. The display, photos of which were obtained by Campus Reform, is titled “Language Matters: Think,” and was placed in the College Avenue Apartments by a resident assistant, according to a current resident of the building who does not wish to be identified. Erected as part of the university’s “Language Matters” campaign, the bulletin board instructs students to ask themselves whether their choice of words is “true,” “helpful,” “inspiring,” “necessary,” and “kind” before speaking out, and also includes a list of potentially-offensive terms, such as “retarded” and “illegal aliens.”

These kids are going to be in for a rude awakening, as well as possible multiple nervous breakdowns, when they enter the real world (was that a microagression, micro insult, or microassault? I’m so confused).

The board warns students that failing to follow these guidelines could lead them to commit a microaggression, which include “microassaults,” “microinsults,” and “microinvalidations.” The “Language Matters” website includes a presentation similar in nature to the flyer, outlining the “big impact” of “little things” and providing examples of the three types of microaggressions. A microassault may include “avoiding someone,” for instance, while an example of a microinsult is telling someone they are strong for a girl. A microinvalidation, meanwhile, could involve asking an Asian or Latino person where they are from. Simply avoiding offensive language, however, is not enough according to Rutgers, which claims that microaggressions can also be “nonverbal” and “environmental,” but fails to elaborate further.

Meanwhile, let’s take a closer look at the bulletin itself. This appears to me to be more akin to how you’d communicate with preschool kids, as opposed to young adults.

Of course, it isn’t at all surprising that this emerged from Rutgers. Recall what we learned in last year’s post, Rutgers University Warns Students – “There is No Such Thing as Free Speech”:

Rutgers University students, you are being watched. That appears to be the message a Rutgers.edu web page would like the campus community to absorb. The web page is maintained by the Bias Prevention & Education Committee, which chillingly warns students that there is “no such thing as ‘free’ speech,” and to “think before you speak.”

In Liberty (am I still allowed to say that?),

Michael Krieger



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