Pelosi's gendered language ban is new in Congress...but speech limitations have been on campus for years

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently changed the rules in the U.S. House of Representatives to preclude the use of gendered language. While this is the first time major speech restrictions have imposed on Congress, such limitations have been a reality on campus for years, as Campus Reform has documented. 

Here are just some examples: 

UC tells students ‘do not’ say ‘Chinese Virus’ and ‘do not allow’ others to say it either 

The University of California system released an instruction sheet insisting that students and faculty only refer to the coronavirus as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” instead of “Chinese Virus.” 

“Do not use terms such as ‘Chinese Virus’ or other terms which cast either intentional or unintentional projections of hatred toward Asian communities, and do not allow the use of these terms by others,” the university stated.

A graduate student at UC Santa Barbara told Campus Reform that these guidelines “pander to the CCP [Chinese Communist Party].” 

Colorado State: Avoid using ‘America,’ ‘Americans’

Colorado State University’s online “Inclusive Language Guide” recommended that students avoid using  “American” and “America” because the “Americas encompass a lot more than the United States.” 

Instead, CSU suggested using the phrases “US Citizen” or “person from the U.S.”

The guide also listed gendered words and phrases such as “Mrs.” and “Mr.” as non-inclusive words that should be avoided. Additionally, “straight,” “normal person,” “war,” “eenie meenie miney moe,” “freshman” and “handicap parking” were discouraged.  

[RELATED: 5 times campus leftists came for the Constitution]

UF bans term ‘illegal immigrant’

An instructor of an Introduction to Cultural Anthropology course at the University of Florida told students not to use the terms “illegal immigrants,” “illegal aliens,” or “the illegals” on an assignment about “irregular migration.” 

Should a student use the “slur,” he or she could receive a failing grade. 

LSU prof pledges to ‘drop’ students who engage in ‘hate speech’ 

Louisiana State University assistant professor Alyssa Johnson called on her colleagues to create a list of students who engage in “hate speech.” She revealed on Twitter that she would “drop” any students that appear on the list from her future courses. Despite LSU Against Racism and a fellow associate professor endorsing her actions, Johnson deleted the original tweet and her Twitter account.

[RELATED: Survey: Most students favor colleges restricting speech]

MSU ‘eliminates’ the terms ‘foreign’ and ‘alien’

Michigan State University Provost Teresa Woodruff announced that the university would “eliminate from our collective lexicon the words ‘alien’ and ‘foreign.’” When referring to international students, Woodruff said the terms “non-domestic” or “international” should be used instead. 

As Speech First founder Nicole Neily recently told Campus Reform, the latest action in Congress further proves that what happens on campus eventually becomes mainstream.

“As Speech First and others have cautioned over the years, what happens on campus doesn’t stay on campus. Unfortunately, the iliberal ideas and behaviors that are encouraged on campus - censorship, emotional safetyism, hysteria over ‘hate speech’ - are internalized by students, who graduate and take those views into the real world. The impact of those attitudes are now unfolding in real time in both the private and public sector - and bodes ill for the country if it’s not stopped,” Neily said. 

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @redwave1776