Maybe it’s my middle age or that my decades as an editor have locked in 20th-century grammar, but I have to be overly conscientious to use preferred pronouns in conversation and even email. Confession: I fail at this about 10 percent of the time and have to backtrack, rephrase and apologize to the person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I want to be accurate, and I want to respect where life has led friends and colleagues. It’s not just personal conversation and correspondence but my work duties in the communications office of one of the colleges of the University of Arkansas. One would hope that we employees want, need, must be open to the breadth of humanity as a land-grant public university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then this happens. Late morning Friday (Oct. 20, 2023) a message goes out from University Relations (the campus communications office) to website managers (and employees in related jobs), citing a recent\u00a0executive order from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders<\/a>, to search and revise any references including changing “pregnant people” to “pregnant women” and “human milk” to “breast milk” \u2014 you get the idea \u2014 in U of A websites and other virtual communications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The governor’s order was directed to “all state offices, departments, boards and commissions” regarding “official state government business.” If I had known that my job included curating official Arkansas government documents, why either I’d demand a raise or fear a pay cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The state newspaper elaborates in “Sanders Bans Use of Non-gendered Terms<\/a>” (alternate link<\/a> if paywall).<\/p>\n\n\n\n I put this search-and-reword task low on my to-do list, yet within 15 minutes I get a direct message about a story that UREL found published in March 2021 in the college’s blog and reposted in the Arkansas News official university news website. It was a feature about one of our graduate students that used the phrase “pregnant people.” UREL was already doing keyword searches, and this was all they found for me to fix, well, so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I changed the phrase but wrote them back that I would not change direct quotations or course or lecture titles and the like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the second time this year, at least, there seems to be an abundance of caution at the top levels of the university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We need to talk about this as the<\/em><\/strong> union of U of A employees, especially the local’s faculty members. Limits on academic speech ought to freak all of us out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first time this happened was less immediate and remains more cloaked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gov. Sanders has been tightening her breaking wheel on educators throughout her 10 months in office (seems like longer, no?) via executive order edict and through the state Legislature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chancellor Charles Robinson in June began to disappear Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. No staff or faculty member lost their job, but their offices were renamed or shifted into larger offices where their efforts to support all<\/strong><\/em> students and employees and to recruit a wide variety of prospective students and job applicants could continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The online news source Arkansas Advocate explains this in “University of Arkansas Prepares to Dissolve DEI Division<\/a>: Existing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Resources, Personnel Will Be Moved into Other Units Later This Year.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where did DEI go? It has not been stated directly, but it appears to me DEI went undercover, switched to the euphemism “Belonging.” There’s now a website belonging.uark.edu<\/a>, introduced in August with the ArkansasNews story “Read the Belonging Framework and Learn Insights From Study on Student Belonging<\/a>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n (A revelation on language: No euphemism improves a situation in the long run, not when coined by our side or by the other folks.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The thumb of acquiescence thus continues, this month with terms of gender, biology and identity. What will be turned next? When will there be loud opposition from the chancellor’s office, from other individuals, from the faculty and staff senates? Seems puny so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The question for UA-Fayetteville Education Association is how can we address the matter? What do our members want? The more voices Local 965 has the stronger we are \u2014 the stronger YOU are<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Copyright 2023 Ben S. Pollock<\/strong> (he, him, y’all)<\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n My Editor\u2019s Note column first appeared in the October 2023<\/a> newsletter of UA-Fayetteville Education Association \/ Local 965<\/a>, which I\u2019m serving as vice president.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Is the Guv Limiting Campus Speech? An Editor’s Note Maybe it’s my middle age or that my decades as an editor have locked in 20th-century grammar, but I have to be overly conscientious to use preferred pronouns in conversation and even email. Confession: I fail at this about 10 percent of the time and have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-spin"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/hanging-cups-openclipart-293806.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6336,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2019\/04\/your-vote\/","url_meta":{"origin":7676,"position":0},"title":"I Would Appreciate Your Vote","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"April 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Candidate Ben Pollock Official U of A photo, summer 2014 I am running this week for a position on the University of Arkansas Staff Senate. The online balloting ends Monday, May 6. If you are a U of A staff member, you may choose to vote for me, and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Education, Coarsely"","block_context":{"text":"Education, Coarsely","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/education-coarsely\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"My Razorback roots go deeper than I thought. My maternal grandfather, Ernest Mendel of Fort Smith (born in Hot Springs), evidently attended the University of Arkansas. I've checked the Senior Walks of several years; he didn't graduate.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Ernest-Army-Discharge-1920.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Ernest-Army-Discharge-1920.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Ernest-Army-Discharge-1920.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Ernest-Army-Discharge-1920.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Ernest-Army-Discharge-1920.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Ernest-Army-Discharge-1920.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5334,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2016\/03\/onion-whole-foods-emerson\/","url_meta":{"origin":7676,"position":1},"title":"Teen Score and Whole Foods Ago, An Onion","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"March 24, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Shy of a Load A\u00a0longtime Onion fan, I had to see\u00a0Scott Dikkers, an early editor and former, longtime owner of the satiric website. He spoke March 10 at the University of Arkansas. About a hundred people attended the midweek evening lecture, which the sponsoring\u00a0Honors College publicized widely. Also compelling me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Shy of a Load"","block_context":{"text":"Shy of a Load","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/items\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The knobs on the amp of guitarist \"Nigel Tufnel\" go to 11 not 10. The 1984 fictional documentary \"This Is Spinal Tap\" continues to be a locus of cultural history.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Spinal_Tap_-_Up_to_Eleven.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Spinal_Tap_-_Up_to_Eleven.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Spinal_Tap_-_Up_to_Eleven.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7515,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2023\/04\/university-of-phoenix\/","url_meta":{"origin":7676,"position":2},"title":"Root for the Phightin’ Phoenices to Roost in Arkansas","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"April 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"DATELINE MIRTHOLOGY \u2014 We, the Campus Welcoming Committee of the University of Arkansas System, would like to extend a hand or rather wing to our newest school, the University of Phoenix. As the UA System Board of Trustees has not yet voted on the adoption of this virtual campus, we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Education, Coarsely"","block_context":{"text":"Education, Coarsely","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/education-coarsely\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Illustration of a comical phoenix and pig","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/cartoonish-phoenix-and-hog.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/cartoonish-phoenix-and-hog.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/cartoonish-phoenix-and-hog.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/cartoonish-phoenix-and-hog.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/cartoonish-phoenix-and-hog.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/cartoonish-phoenix-and-hog.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8189,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2025\/10\/top-ten-list-top-ten-commandments\/","url_meta":{"origin":7676,"position":3},"title":"Top Ten List of Top Ten Commandments","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"October 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Top Ten Reasons the University of Arkansas Doesn't Need to Find Places on Campus to Nail 500 Copies of One Translation of the Ten Commandments Editor's Note by Ben Pollock, Local 965 vice president News item: \"U of A Rolls Out Ten Commandments Displays,\" Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Oct. 16, 2025,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News, Spin"","block_context":{"text":"News, Spin","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/news-spin\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"One of the 500 posters of the Ten Commandments donated to the University of Arkansas, mounted at Union Station next to a defibrillator.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/our-ten-commandments.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/our-ten-commandments.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/our-ten-commandments.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/our-ten-commandments.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/our-ten-commandments.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/our-ten-commandments.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":103,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2005\/11\/a-perfect-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":7676,"position":4},"title":"A perfect day","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"November 7, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Copyright 2005 Ben S. Pollock Monday, November 7, 2005. Now I can understanding the irritating habit of young brides to have everything \"perfect\" on their wedding day, the heck with the confused groom and the beleaguered parents. Birthdays are like that. At least for me, every year I want my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Body, Home, Street"","block_context":{"text":"Body, Home, Street","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/body-home-street\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2004\/10\/degree-by-degree\/","url_meta":{"origin":7676,"position":5},"title":"Degree by degree","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"October 21, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Copyright 2004 Ben S. Pollock Thursday, October 21, 2004. We went to the new Blair Library on Tuesday, after lunch at Jammin' Java with friends, She to the video section and I in my cap upstairs to grab a couple of novels by William Humphrey, a biography of whom I'll\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Life Lessons"","block_context":{"text":"Life Lessons","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/life-lessons\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7676"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7684,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7676\/revisions\/7684"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}