Stanford University Welcomes the Use of ‘American’ After Uproar Over ‘Harmful Language’ Guide

Cyclists ride by Hoover Tower on the Stanford University campus in Stanford, Calif., on March 12, 2019. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Stanford University seems to have backpedaled on its controversial “harmful language” guide, acknowledging that it was wrong to have included the word “American.”

The language guide, published in mid-December, is a Stanford project officially known as the Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative (EHLI). The guide places certain phrases and words into 10 “harmful language” sections, including “ableist,” “culturally appropriative,” “gender-based,” “imprecise language,” and “institutionalized racism.”