So Requin is going to give less money to his alma mater because they decided to change a few names. That makes a lot of sense. Harvard doesn’t seem to be hurting for people wanting to give money to it. Maybe some of the alumni should threaten to boycott the christmas party at the Harvard club in retaliation over this
It’s fairly obvious that the persons who are forwarding this change in nomenclature are master-baiting too much!
This honestly sounds like satire. The word master is used so widely outside of the slavery context, this seems like the kind of connection middle school kids giggle over.
The custodians now carry omnipotent keys and all the university employees are now required to refer to their bedrooms as simply the big bedroom.
@doubtful, I sure hope the locks opened by those omnipotent keys weren’t manufactured by the Master Lock company.
What next? The banning of cotton clothing on campus?
So what? They can do whatever they want. How does this affect anyone else?
Dude, seriously? I am usually on-board with civility and politeness but this is going way off the deep end.
I’m African American myself. First of all, “house master” has nothing to do with slavery. Obviously.
But second of all…slavery happened. For better or for worse, it (and segregation and institutionalized racism) is a huge part of our history. And despite the way history classes teach it, it wasn’t an isolated incident in American history - it’s an institution that is intertwined throughout the very foundation of our nation.
Woodrow Wilson and John C. Calhoun don’t stop being great men who contributed greatly to the foundation of our country simply because they had some unsavory views on racial matters. If only the very purest are allowed to be honored on our universities and monuments, we’ll name no one.
Honestly, normally I hate when people say this, but the problem is that these silly side extreme issues are taking the focus away from actual problems with prejudice and racial issues at these universities. It’s making the students in question look like whiners and troublemakers rather than rational adults with real grievances. It diminishes their credibility.
Ummm… Woodrow Wilson and John Calhoun didn’t merely just have “unsavory views.”
Their actions are what earn them scorn.
Calhoun was a major force for maintaining slavery and an inspiration to the secessionists. Woodrow Wilson was not just reflecting views of the time, but actively tried to reverse all previous civil rights gains made during Reconstruction. It “diminishes credibility” when folks just pass that off as mildly un-PC “unsavory views”.
As a Harvard alum, I’m glad “Masters” will no longer be used… it is an anachronistic, elitist term that has no place in a modern university. And for Calhoun, they should expunge his name from the undergraduate college at Yale and blow the statue of him to smithereens. Ditto with Wilson at Princeton.
Yeah, yeah, I get it… some folks just like to prove how cool they are to be anti-PC.
Good for you… you taking a stand for maintaining respectful deference to racists and troglodytes… for what purpose, oh yeah, because you think undergrads are just being “whiney”.
Back in ancient Greece it was acceptable for men to have love affairs with young boys, and these days pretty much everyone finds those moral values repugnant. Do we have to stop using terms that include words like “Socratic,” “Platonic,” and “Aristotelian”?
Only in academia. What’s sad here, as noted in this thread, is that the word “master” in the context of the colleges within Harvard has nothing to do with “master” in terms of slavery or subjugation. How quick things change simply out of trendy outrage and undeserved indignation. This is not progression, this is devolution. This is not sound reasoning, this is sophistry.
You’d be surprised how high a person can score on the verbal section of the SAT, but seem lost on how to practice such acumen in real life. It has been my experience that sounding amazing on paper is quite different than what one gets in reality - sports would be the exception.
Schools in Britain have historically for hundreds of years used the terms headmaster and housemaster ay schools. There’s zero connection to slavery. My kids’ two boarding schools use the terms headmaster and housemaster, and no one gives it a second thought.
If you’re going to be uptight about any generic word that was used in US slavery days, then where does it end?
Wasnt it the Masters themselves that decided to change the name Thats their right! Companies change their name all the time. People change their names. So what is the complaint? They shouldnt be allowed to change their name if they want to do that?
@tiger1307, I think the issue for some is the loss of tradition.
The U.S. isn’t all that old, but its universities are some of the only institutions that retain not only buildings but traditions dating to the nation’s earlier eras. The current Harvard “masters” will no doubt move on to better things in a few years; some might question whether this is even their decision. Most organizations don’t let employees choose their own titles, as much fun as that might be.
It’s an imperfect analogy, but I’ve seen buildings with classic architecture and a century-plus of history “updated” by new owners. A few years later, those responsible move on, leaving the remuddled mess behind. Names are easier to fix, though one wonders whether anyone would risk the wrath of those easily-offended individuals who worry about this kind of stuff.
I would like to note that the person who posted this didn’t say anything about slavery–I take this as an alternate reason for changing the term. This would be an argument for, say, also doing away with the absurd academic regalia–personally, I like it, but it certainly is anachronistic.
Modern university? Like the University of Phoenix? Is that anyone’s moniker on CC? PhoenixandDeVry? Does modern mean devoid of long held tradition? Aren’t the traditions part of well established schools’ identities? Signs noting where George Washington slept, parties requiring formal dress, addressing professors as Professor or Doctor instead of their given name all seem somewhat anachronistic to me as well. And I’d hate to see those things done away with. My kid at Harvard was sorry to hear about the change and the loss of tradition. She is looking forward to her house’s holiday party but feels it’s days are probably numbered as well because it’s very Christmas-y. And if the master thing was about removing a trigger word pre-emptively, as Wilson represents racism at Princeton does anyone acknowledge Kennedy representing the sexual abuse/exploitation of women at Harvard? Why is that not a trigger?
@doubtful, What evidence do you have that Kennedy sexually abused anyone? That’s a pretty big charge.
Yes, he was a disgusting cad who had a number of consensual extramarital affairs… but that is a far cry from sexual abuse.
As for the House end of year parties… oh please, are you really thinking their “days are probably numbered” because of some BS war on Christmas?
As I thought, this entire thread is just an opportunity for conservatives to whine about PC.
Personally, I don’t like the term Master as it implies that I, as a student, am less than this. In an academic atmosphere such as a class or lecture, it makes sense to use terms of respect. Doctor, Professor etc. But in a living situation I feel that this is an unnecessary boundary. House masters are meant to look after the students yes? To provide them a support structure, in this context I feel that degree of formality is uncomfortable and somewhat inappropriate.
I am going to share something perhaps too personal here but it will put things in context as to why some students, for reasons completely unrelated to race, would not want to use that term. In my childhood I was abused by an individual in authority who forced me to call them “master” and I will not use such a term to convey respect towards anyone. Doctor is a title earned, professor is a title earned, Mr./Ms. is common courtesy but the term master seems arbitrary to me. I understand that this is my personal problem and that to some degree I am giving power to my abuser by being so adamant against that word. In my position, I would go personally to the house master and explain why I would not call them that and I imagine they would be pretty understanding however, it would be all the better if I would not have to expose myself in such a way, in my undergraduate living space where most of my time will be spent. If the University simply did not have such a policy it would be easier for me. So perhaps some student in a situation similar to mine went to the administration, not everything is about race.
Having said that, I think that universities should not remove the names of slave owners, confederate generals or propagators of slavery, because I feel that this makes it very easy to remove the struggle of minorities from this nations history. A new textbook in my school sought to call slaves coming over from Africa as “workers” because they thought that discussing slavery would be too offensive to the young minds of 15 year olds. This is where the line is crossed. Or how text books treat the Native Americans in the west as agitators when in reality whole villages of Natives were killed as they ran away and the indignities against Natives continue to this day. While our text books tell us that we defeated these savage warriors who selfishly wanted to keep their territory and mention nothing of the kidnapping of Native youth in an attempt to white wash them or the boarding schools so as not to offend the delicate sensibilities of white American youth.
I am worried about where free speech meets institutional policy particularly on matters of race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Even if I had to listen to white racist rabble all day, I’d rather listen to that than give an institution the power to dictate what I may or may not say.
Changing Master Degree is ridiculous. The word ‘master’ in that context has nothing to do with slavery; it is saying that a person has “mastered” a subject. Shall we change ‘master bedroom’ as well?