Student Senate will vote on a Pronoun Resolution at its next General Assembly Feb. 13. The resolution proposes a way for students to pick which pronouns, such as “he,” “she” or “they,” are on their Sakai and Webster profiles.
Student Body President Jenna Dellaria brought the idea to the committee for Diversity and Inclusion. The committee then drafted a proposal for presentation to all of Senate.
“After research was done on how other universities implement this policy and how many other colleges use this system, the Department of Diversity and Inclusion drafted a resolution to implement [it] at Bradley,” Dellaria, a junior elementary and special education double major, said. “If the resolution passes, it will be brought to administration and decided if they will implement this policy.”
If the policy takes effect, Webster will include a dropbox for students to indicate their preferred pronouns. Professors can view the chosen pronouns on their class rosters.
“The resolution is beneficial to students because it allows all students to be who they are,” Alysen Newton, senior English secondary education major and vice president of Diversity and Inclusion, said.
Newton also brought up a hypothetical situation to help cisgender students (students whose gender identity aligns with their biological sex) understand where students who do not identify as cisgender are coming from.
“I just pose the question of: What if someone used the wrong pronouns on somebody who is cisgender,” Newton said. “It would be uncomfortable and rude. That same thought process applies for non-binary people.”
Dellaria said Senate’s goal is to represent every students needs and having different pronoun options for Sakai and Webster would help that.
“Senate wants all students to feel comfortable, safe, accepted and included at Bradley,” Dellaria said. “[The Pronoun Resolution] will make Bradley a more inclusive campus and support all non gender binary and transgender students.”
