A British university has stoked outrage by banning the term “illegal immigrant” to avoid causing offense. Guidance issued to educators and students at the London Metropolitan University described the phrase as “dehumanizing” and urged individuals to use the term “undocumented” instead. The guidelines also demanded that the words “mad” or “crazy” be prohibited and replaced with the term “bananas.”
Additionally, the guidance stated that “everyone” should replace “ladies and gentlemen” and “partners” should replace “husband and wife.”
Conservatives responded with disbelief and denounced the policy as “ludicrous woke nonsense.” Conservative Party politician Nigel Mills said “illegal immigrant” is an accurate and lawful term that describes individuals who arrive in the United Kingdom without permission to be there. “Surely universities have better uses for tuition fees than paying people to come up with this rubbish,” he said.
A university spokesperson dismissed the criticisms saying London Metropolitan is proud of its “diverse” community. He added that the guidelines were not an example of “political correctness” but a desire to “ensure everyone feels valued.”
A significant media study last year revealed that over half of Britain’s universities had introduced radical “woke” policies. The prestigious Oxford and Cambridge universities were among them, as both have introduced “unconscious bias” workshops for freshmen. The study concluded that Cambridge was the most “woke” of the UK’s educational institutions, closely followed by Oxford in second place.
Oxford University came under fire in 2021 after its officials removed a portrait of the UK’s longest serving Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, saying she represented the country’s “colonial history.” Future depictions of the nation’s Royal family are subject to a committee vote, in a move denounced by political leaders who accused the college of smearing British history.
The Queen’s portrait was removed following a proposal from American professor Matthew Katzman, a Maryland native and former Stanford University student. Katzman argued that removing the portrait would make the college a “neutral place” that welcomed people of all backgrounds and views.
