Monday, May 13, 2013

On Being a Freshman


Why must I be a freshman next year?

Well, because I’ll be enrolling in my first year of college. Yes, I know that. My question centers not on the existentialist quality of being a freshman, but the language of it. Why must I be a freshman?

According to dictionary.com, the word freshman comes from the words fresh (as in new) and man (as in not woman), and has been used to refer to first year university students since the 1590s. This term is clearly a relic of ye olden dayes when higher education was a realm solely accessibly to (rich, upper class, white, able-bodied) men. Although we have abolished or significantly limited the usage of numerous gender-insensitive terms over the years, freshman is still the only way mainstream American society refers to ninth graders and first year college students. Even extremely liberal colleges that generally bend over backwards to be politically correct use the word freshman. For colleges that are supposed to be bastions of left-wing enlightenment, I’m surprised that they use such a dated, sexist term.

Since this has irked me since I was a mere ninth grader in high school, I have traditionally replaced freshman with freshperson. Honestly, it’s become second nature to type in person instead of man after the fresh. However, I am completely aware of how awkward freshperson sounds and how ridiculous it looks to non-feminists.

As a result, I have begun to use the less-clunky term first year. It’s the same amount of syllables as freshman, can be used in the same contexts, and doesn’t sound weird or affected at all. Some colleges, like Wesleyan and Sarah Lawrence, actually use it. I really do think that it’s a viable alternative to the word freshman, and could be used instead.

So, college representatives reading this piece: please, take my suggestion to heart. At least reconsider what you call your first year students. Make a concerted effort to include approximately 50% of your admitted students. It’s the appropriate thing to do in the 21st century.

4 comments:

  1. I once saw the term "fresher" used in a novel to describe first year college students of either gender. After reading that I called myself a fresher all through my first year of high school, much to my family's dismay.

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    1. I believe "fresher" is the term used in the UK. It is a good, gender-neutral alternative!

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  2. Barnard uses the term "first year." It's like Hogwarts :)(By the way I don't know where you plan on going to college but you would love Barnard - great Jewish community and great feminist pride).

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    1. When doing research for this post, I noticed that a lot of women's colleges use "first year" rather than "freshman." I guess that makes sense, but it would be great if "first year" was more commonly used. And it would be especially epic because, I mean, HOGWARTS.

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