The university's new guide to "Ableism and Disability Justice" lists terms and phrases that could upset someone with a physical or emotional challenge. It reportedly condemns as "ableist" the idea that the disabled want to be healed of their disabilities.
So-called "ableism" is likened to "racism and sexism" in that it allegedly "classifies entire groups of people as 'less than.'"
"It's ridiculous to have all this whole checklist of things that it's OK to say and things that it's not OK to say and to say you're being micro-aggressive with you saying simple things like, 'May I pray for you?'" Janice Crouse responds.
Other "ableist micro-aggressive" phrases are "that's so lame," "that guy is crazy," "I'm super OCD about how I clean my apartment," and "my ideas fell on deaf ears."
Crouse calls the guide unrealistic.
"It creates this sort of unreality, this sort of superficial world that we're supposed to live in," she contends. "You can't really be yourself; you can't really express human emotions or human sympathy."
Meanwhile, the university president recently announced the removal of campus diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in response to President Trump's anti-DEI executive order and the Department of Education's enforcement directives.
