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Student penalized for using word ‘man’ on his essay
www.thecollegefix.com ^ | May 1, 2017 | Rebecca Downs - Regent University

Posted on 05/01/2017 10:09:23 AM PDT by Red Badger

At the University of Florida, a student was recently penalized for writing “man” instead of “humankind” in a class paper.

History major Martin Poirier wrote “Water is a thing prior to man” on a paper for a history class called “History of Water.”

“Thoughtful paper, although the writing-mechanics errors are killing you,” Professor Jack Davis wrote at the bottom of the paper. He gave the student a B minus, according to a copy of the essay published in the student news outlet the Daily Nerv.

Davis circled “man” and referenced his Writing Mechanics Exercise #20, which draws a distinction between “mankind” and “humankind.”

Davis defended the penalization in an email to The College Fix. He explained that the “exercise and inclusion of ‘humankind’ are consistent with the Chicago Manual of Style, the style and the usage guide followed in the discipline of history.”

Davis also said the exercise is “not to enforce political correctness” but is “both a grammar refresher and a style and user guide.”

It was also not for the use “man” alone that Poirier lost points. Rather, Davis explained to The Fix that students lose points when they don’t follow two or more standards.

“I do not lower a student’s grade for only one inconsistence, and I single out no student as an example,” Davis said.

Poirier’s paper was selected for class discussion, having been emailed to his classmates “with anonymity strictly maintained,” according to Davis.

But Poirier decided to publicly defend his use of the word “man” during the class discussion, calling it politically motivated, according to the Daily Nerv student news outlet.

In a Facebook message to The College Fix, Poirier said the “History of Water” class is “certainly biased,” but that he believes “Davis is rather moderate compared to his peers and formulated the gender neutral rule in order to be ‘by the books.’”

“It is on those grammarians who, like the rest of the academy, have eagerly stoked the slide towards gender [and] social anarchy,” he told The Fix.

This incident in question of a lower grade was not the first time Poirier has faced what he considers a troubling trend on campus.

“Political correctness on college campuses goes far deeper than this one excess by this one teacher. By and large, the radical liberationist ideas go unchallenged because no truly oppositional content is presented,” he said.

The College Fix also reached out to the university for a statement.

“We do not comment on student matters,” campus spokesperson Janine Sikes said via email.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: gators; highereducation; leftismoncampus; speechcodes; uoff
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To: silverleaf

>>>hey what about huwomankind<<<

Excuse me, but that would be hupersonkind . . . you ARE a misogynist and now I am going to have to hold my teddy bear!


21 posted on 05/01/2017 10:26:49 AM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress (http://www.baptistbiblebelievers.com/BYTOPICS/tabid/335/Default.aspx D)
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To: Red Badger

Man, that sucks.../sar


22 posted on 05/01/2017 10:27:25 AM PDT by Zathras
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To: Still Thinking

I have had many boats trust me its the boat that has sex with its owner


23 posted on 05/01/2017 10:27:44 AM PDT by al baby (Hi Mom Its a Joke friends)
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To: I want the USA back

So will Neil Armstrong’s words now be held in contempt and need to be removed from history


24 posted on 05/01/2017 10:28:49 AM PDT by al baby (Hi Mom Its a Joke friends)
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To: Pilgrim's Progress

You named your bear Teddy?
Now I feel micro-agressioned by your sexist privilege
Please at least tell me Teddy wears a pink tutu


25 posted on 05/01/2017 10:29:50 AM PDT by silverleaf (Age takes a toll: Please have exact change)
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To: Red Badger

Da, you will write what we told you to write, you are free to express what you want unless it differs from what we want you to learn. There can be no compromise. Failure to do so will result in your volunteering to work in the quarries in northern Alaska, so far north you can see the gulags of Siberia from your front door.


26 posted on 05/01/2017 10:30:31 AM PDT by Bringbackthedraft (Again it disapeared? Damn cursor is in cahoots with the tag line.)
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To: Opinionated Blowhard
“Water is a thing prior to man”

He should be penalized for writing that sentence, not using the word "man."

Agree. None of my high school English teachers would have let that sentence pass. Sheesh.

27 posted on 05/01/2017 10:30:56 AM PDT by NewHampshireDuo
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To: silverleaf

It is simply my white humankind privilege! oh, and Teddy wears a teddy.


28 posted on 05/01/2017 10:33:57 AM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress (http://www.baptistbiblebelievers.com/BYTOPICS/tabid/335/Default.aspx D)
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To: Red Badger

So, common usage easily understood by all but dense professors is now a grade reducer...


29 posted on 05/01/2017 10:36:50 AM PDT by JimRed ( TERM LIMITS, NOW! Building the Wall! TRUTH is the new HATE SPEECH.)
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To: JimRed

I have a feeling that the student would have gotten a negative reaction from the prof even without the PC faux pas................


30 posted on 05/01/2017 10:39:19 AM PDT by Red Badger (Profanity is the sound of an ignorant mind trying to express itself.............)
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To: al baby

Yes Armstrong’s words will be struck from history.

We already see such censorship happening, so we can claim to be politically correct.

At the World War II memorial, the quote from Roosevelt’s speech about seeing us through to ultimate victory omitted his saying “so help me God” in that speech. Apparently Roosevelt’s invoking God was too offensive to those who set up that memorial. So we will just pretend that a president in a dark hour of history made no reference to God.


31 posted on 05/01/2017 10:42:28 AM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: Red Badger

“huMANkind!” can’t survive this kind of mindless-rot-BS in our schools!


32 posted on 05/01/2017 10:49:29 AM PDT by faithhopecharity ("Politicans are not born, they're excreted." -- Marcus Tillius Cicero)
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To: Red Badger

To find the most ignorant and stupid, man only need enter a so-called University.


33 posted on 05/01/2017 10:50:03 AM PDT by CodeToad (If it weren't for physics and law enforcement, I'd be unstoppable!)
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To: Red Badger

And AN ESSAY ON HOW BAD pRESIDENT tRUMP IS, RIDDLED WITH GRAMMATICAL AND SPELLING ERRORS, WOULD STILL RECEIVE AN “a”

And an essay lambasting President Trump, riddled with grammatical and spelling errors, would still receive an “A+”.


34 posted on 05/01/2017 10:51:08 AM PDT by AlaskaErik (I served and protected my country for 31 years. Progressives spent that time trying to destroy it.)
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To: CodeToad

Colleges and universities today, and for the last 60 years or so, have been set up solely to make money, not deliver a quality education.................


35 posted on 05/01/2017 10:59:53 AM PDT by Red Badger (Profanity is the sound of an ignorant mind trying to express itself.............)
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To: Red Badger

Man, that sucks.


36 posted on 05/01/2017 11:04:54 AM PDT by maine-iac7 (cHRISTIAN IS AS CHRISTIAN DOES)
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To: Red Badger
“Water is a thing prior to man”

That is bad writing.

37 posted on 05/01/2017 11:12:20 AM PDT by Organic Panic (Flinging poo is not a valid argument)
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To: FES0844
Poetic license is dead.

It is up to us to stop the madness. Push back every chance you get.

38 posted on 05/01/2017 11:25:10 AM PDT by GingisK
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To: FES0844

The way I see it, Man is a creature. Human is more a status. Not all men (mankind) are human. If fact, fewer of them are born every day. Just look around you....


39 posted on 05/01/2017 11:25:40 AM PDT by beelzepug (Anybody I attack may rest assured it's personal!)
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To: Organic Panic

That is HEMINGWAY CLASS bad writing..............


40 posted on 05/01/2017 11:35:11 AM PDT by Red Badger (Profanity is the sound of an ignorant mind trying to express itself.............)
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