USC Bans the Word “Field” for Being Racist

Say, what if someone is named “Field?” That would be pretty awkward, wouldn’t it?

NY Post: The University of Southern California’s school of social work will no longer use the word “field” in its curriculum, saying it may have racist “connotations.”

USC’s Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work said the change was critical to support anti-racist social work and inclusivity.

The department specifically decided to remove the word “field” from its curriculum and replace it with “practicum,” according to the letter, which was dated Jan. 9 and shared to Twitter.

“This change supports anti-racist social work practice by replacing language that would be considered anti-Black or anti-immigrant in favor of inclusive language,” the letter said.

The letter continued: “Language can be powerful, and phrases such as ‘going into the field’ or ‘field work’ maybe have connotations for descendants of slavery and immigrant workers that are not benign.”

So one can no longer go into a field of study? But can the football team take the “field?”

I wonder how much money was spent coming up with this policy? The school should fire anyone who spent time on this new policy and watch as the school becomes a better, more efficient place to be in their absence?

This comment in the Post from NYU Ethan was pretty funny.

I’m happy to hear this. We stopped using the word trigger warning “field” on campus because it was so upsetting to BIPOC students. I’m actually assistant to the Primary Inclusive Language Person. Our job is to change harmful language. It used to be Chief Inclusive Language Officer, but “Chief” was considered harmful to Native American communities and “Officer” made students of color feel unsafe. Officer was changed to “Tsar”, but that made communist students uncomfortable. It’s was then changed to “chairperson”, but that was deemed ableist since not everyone is able to use a chair. I actually used to be the Primary Inclusive Language Person, but was asked to step down to make room for people of color. I apologized for my whiteness and agreed.