University of Michigan’s Pronoun Committee: Students dictate personal pronouns used by faculty

Students at the University of Michigan will begin designating the personal pronouns that faculty and staff use to address them in conversation.

Michigan Wolverines going forward will receive rosters that allow them to choose from a list of personal pronouns they expect employees to use during campus interactions. Students may use the gender-neutral “ze,” or decline to state a preferred pronoun altogether.

Provost Martha Pollack and Royster Harper, vice president for Student Life, said in an email to students and faculty members that the school’s decision was rooted in a desire for increased inclusiveness, the Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday.

“Faculty members play a vital role in ensuring all of our community feels valued, respected and included. Given that this process is new, we ask that faculty members review their rosters again in mid- to late October to give students time to designate their pronouns,” the email said, the newspaper reported. “Asking about and correctly using someone’s designated pronoun is one of the most basic ways to show respect for their identity and to cultivate an environment that respects all gender identities.”

The policy was crafted by a Pronoun Committee of staff and faculty that was created in response to a student-led petition, the newspaper reported.