After spending a prolonged period of time at the University of North Carolina, people often begin to speak a language different from that of the rest of the state. Many teachers and students use words in ways not prescribed by the dictionary. So, when a person that adheres to the Webster’s dictionary meets a “UNC-speaker,” the conversationalists often misunderstand each other and dialogue can become hostile.
The first problems with communication at UNC arise in the form of false-cognates; words that sound the same but have different meanings.
The most blatant example of these deals with a delicate subject. The word “homosexual” means “Of, relating to, or involving sexual intercourse between individuals of the same sex,” according to dictionary.com. However, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Office, an official division of student affairs, defines the term differently on their website. “Men and women who form sexual and affectionate relationships with members of the same gender.”
The difference between these two definitions is subtle but important. According to LGBT, being homosexual is a permanent social state. It has nothing to do with sexual intercourse. When talking about sexual behavior LGBT recommends using the terms “Men who have Sex with Men (MSM)” or “Women who have Sex with Women (WSW).”
Taking these definitions into account, the Elyse Crystall debacle is better understood.
When Tim raised an objection to homosexuality, a misunderstanding arose. Whereas Crystall took his comments to mean that he hated homosexuals, in truth, he simply objected to the behavior of “Men who have Sex with Men.” Thus the professor thought that Tim was condemning a social group while he was simply condemning an action. Even though this may not justify her labeling of Tim’s opinion as “heterosexist” and “hate speech,” it does explain her thought process.
Another example of a false-cognate is present within the abortion debate. Choice USA, a student organization, claims on their website that “pro-choice does not mean pro-abortion.” To the innocent bystander, being pro-choice would include advocating the right of women to hear both sides of the abortion debate. However, when Scott Klusendorf, a pro-life speaker, delivered a speech in Murphy Hall last fall, members of Choice USA stood outside the building and discouraged people from going into the speech by holding up signs with pro-abortion slogans. So obviously when they promote “the right to choose,” they do not actually want women to have a choice.
The second major problem with communication at UNC is when people try to pass off connotation as denotation. Connotation, “the set of associations implied by a word,” is not the same as denotation, “the most specific or direct meaning of a word” or simply “a word’s literal meaning.” However, campus liberals often confuse the two.
On their website, the Campus Y, UNC’s largest service organization, describes their mission as “The pursuit of social justice through the cultivation of pluralism.” The word “justice” denotes “fairness” while the word “pluralism” denotes “a condition in which numerous distinct ethnic, religious, or cultural groups are present and tolerated within a society.” However, notwithstanding the many charitable works the Campus Y performs, they do not advocate for the unborn or for people under oppressive rule. They can ignore these issues because although abortion and oppression are in fact issues of “fairness” and contribute to a diverse society, they are not part of “social justice.” Rather, the connotative meaning of “social justice” implies such things as being anti-globalization and supporting more government programs.
Another example of the problems with connotation is illustrated by the history department’s website, which claims that the department “discourages parochialism.” Parochialism is something that is “narrowly restricted in scope or outlook.” On the surface it seems that the history department is stating the obvious. Education should not be narrowly restricted in scope. However, in this case “parochialism” can be interpreted to mean traditional or “not politically correct.” Traditional values, patriotism, the genius of our Founding Fathers, and the importance of historical context are all “parochial” ideas that should not be taught.
Such an understanding of history explains why Chancellor Moeser retired the Spencer Bell Award recently. If one judges Cornelia Phillips Spencer by today’s standards, she is a “white supremacist.” Looking at the good deeds of a person with prejudices or putting a person’s views in a historical context would be considered “parochial.”
Many people may claim that liberals at UNC are trying to suppress the conservative viewpoint. However, a more optimistic view is that the UNC community simply has communication problems. It is up to the “commoners” of North Carolina to be understanding and help the state’s leading “intellectuals” express themselves more clearly.
Brian Sopp (sopp@email.unc.edu) is an intern for the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy in Chapel Hill.