South Dakota is going to drastic measures to ensure needless headaches for their school staff.
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A new policy is in place to prohibit the use of any gender pronouns amongst staff and faculty members. This ruling extends to any Native American employees, expressing their tribal affiliations will not be tolerated in the state.
This reflects the storied conflict between Natives and locals inhabiting the land. University of South Dakota faculty members Megan Red Shirt-Shaw and her husband John Little received a notice from the school that they were violating a policy. "I was told that I had 5 days to remove my tribal affiliation and pronouns," Little wrote to AP. "I believe the exact wording was that I had '5 days to correct the behavior.' If my tribal affiliation and pronouns were not removed after the 5 days, then administrators would meet and make a decision whether I would be suspended (with or without pay) and/or immediately terminated."
What School Ban Means For Everyone
This is all indicative of a larger agenda at play. Ultimately, the plan in place effectively waxes away any form of diversity and inclusivity in states such as South Dakota. Republican governor Kristi Noem plays a big role in the state's effort to censor progressive ideology. In an angry letter about the liberals, she calls for the board to ban drag shows and remove any reference to preferred pronouns. The kicker? Noem appointed all nine members of the board. They were always going to agree with her.
Additionally, she takes aim at local tribe leaders, claiming they benefit from drug cartels and neglect their children. This is causing the tribes to attempt to ban her from the state.
Undoubtedly, there is reasonable trepidation that what's happening in South Dakota will trickle down to other states. Paulette Grandberry Russell is the president of National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education. She notices that efforts like these is a larger exercise in how to get away with discrimination. She explains, "This comes in the form of communications and branding standards. Is that going to be the next frontier in sanitizing the realities of our differences?
Moreover, you can see how the lack of acknowledgement affects the people. Megan Red Shirt-Shaw went on to social media to express her disappointment. "The ability to share my tribal affiliation as well as gender pronouns signals that I am a person who values the lived experiences of others," she expresses.
With policies in place like this, it is abundantly clear how people in power wish to limit the truth around them.
