Campus & Community

University Celebrates International Pronouns Day on Wednesday

Tuesday, October 20, 2020, By News Staff

Wednesday, Oct. 21, is International Pronouns Day, a global initiative established in 2018 that seeks to make respecting, sharing and educating about personal pronouns a common occurrence.

For the third consecutive year, the University’s Pronoun, Gender, Preferred Name Advisory Council (PGPNAC), with assistance from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Resource Center, is hosting activities that educate about affirmative pronoun usage and celebrate the multiple and intersecting identities of people within the University community.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s activities are virtual. They include:

  • International Pronouns Day Trivia, a virtual contest (including prizes), will be held on Wednesday at noon ET on Zoom. Register for the contest.
  • “Building Awareness in Using Pronouns and Preferred Names,” a virtual training session on pronouns, will be presented from 3-5 p.m. ET on Wednesday; and
  • The creation of Zoom backgrounds that are available to download from the PGPNAC’s Pronouns Day website.

Aley O’Mara, a doctoral student in English in the College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the PGPNAC, is a longtime advocate of integrating personal pronouns into campus culture. “International Pronouns Day gives us a space to learn more,” they say.

“Every day is a chance to educate ourselves and others in sharing and respecting each other’s pronouns. Celebrating International Pronouns Day is an opportunity to take note of the systemic changes our campus has made in the past year, and what we can still achieve in the next year.”

Last year, the PGPNAC and Information Technology Services launched a new MySlice experience, My Profile, that allows students, faculty and staff to indicate their personal pronouns and preferred names.

To change your pronouns on MySlice:

  1. Log in to MySlice
  2. Select the “My Profile” pagelet
  3. Click on the “Biographic” tab
  4. Click on the “Pronoun” link
  5. Select your personal pronoun

For more information on personal pronouns, visit answers.syr.edu/PronounFAQ. If you have specific questions, email pgpnac@syr.edu.