Gender Neutral Pronouns on UTK Campus

Chattanooga, TN (WDEF) – Sometimes "he" or "she" doesn’t work.

Atleast that’s what the University of Tennessee in Knoxville is saying in a published article on the college website.

The school’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion is suggesting people think twice before calling someone "him" or "her" based on their appearance.

The solution? The use of gender neautral pronouns on campus.

"I think it’s just the best policy," said Dr. James Arnett who is an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. "It’s rooted in a sort of respect for students and respect for students’ gender expressions and it’s non-invasive and encourages students to think critically about gender pronouns in daily life without making the assumption of male or female gendered bodies."

The article contains a chart in Tennessee orange with suggestions for these new pronouns.

For example he or she would be ‘ze’, pronounced ‘zhee.’

But not everyone agrees a university should change grammar rules.

"Universities are places where you go to study to find truth," said Mark West with the Chattanooga Tea Party. "They boast of being scientific centers and yet we would look at each other now and not look at the scientific facts that you are a woman and I am a man and we would stop saying that."

Gender identity has been a hot topic this year with Caitlyn Jenner making headlines and Target no longer separating boys and girls clothes.

So the issue isn’t going anywhere.

"I think it’s dumb," said UTC sophomore August Parades. "I don’t think there’s any negative consequences to calling someone he or she."

"If they can articulate exactly why it is they believe this new policy is important," said Trevor Slayton who is a graduate student at UTC, "then they’ll be pretty successful because of the changing times, because of Caitlyn Jenner."