On Tue, 24 Oct 2000, Marie Helweg-Larsen went:
> Hi Tipsters,
> I would like to know what first year students are called at your school
> (official name (-:) . We use the term "freshmen" and would like to
> change to a less sexist term.
I'm glad!
Of the applicable gender-neutral terms I've heard, the least awkward
is _frosh_. It seemed to be the preferred term among students,
faculty, and administration alike at my undergraduate alma mater,
Wesleyan University (in Connecticut). That was in 1984-1988; I don't
know whether things have changed there.
The chief disadvantages of _frosh_: 1) it puzzles people who haven't
heard it before, and 2) some dictionaries say that it derives from a
German word for "frog"!
yours sophomorically,
David Epstein
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
