I marched in our university's annual Convocation ceremony yesterday.
Lots of pomp and circumstance and high praise for all the good, positive things that have happened at Winthrop University over the past 125 years. Faculty strutted like proud (colorful) peacocks into and out of historic Byrnes Auditorium.
However, in the "Convocation 2011" printed program that accompanied this yearly ritual I noticed this puzzling sentence about the keynote speaker:
"He was honored by the university as the 2008 Outstanding Young Alumni" for his dedication to the campus and his community."
Question: How could he be more than one person?
Get it?
Another topic: I'm glad that "Freedom of Speech" is part of Winthrop University's "Dedication For Excellence"--read verbatim and with spirit by hundreds of people at Convocation yesterday.
"I will recognize," thousands of us in the audience intoned aloud, "that I can exercise the full range of my freedom of speech and will respect the rights of others to express themselves as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States."
Valuable, lofty thing this ideal we call "Freedom of Speech" at Winthrop University.
So fragile in some respects, but nevertheless enduring and monumentally important.
Because if we don't have and don't genuinely practice freedom of speech, then what's the point of any of us being here?
2 comments:
AP Style and freedom of speech: so important.
I got it, and I love it :)
Thanks, Anna, and hope all is well in Australia!
And now, here's a thoughtful post from a person who wanted to comment on the alumni/alumnus/alumna/alumnae conundrum:
Here is what I wonder: If enough people use an expression in one way, even if it violates the rules of grammar, does the wrong way suddenly become the right way? Are the purists the only ones who care?
I am always concerned when I hear like used as a subordinating conjunction instead of a preposition in constructions. For a long time, as a youngster growing up listening to the cigarette commercial claiming “Winston tastes good like a cigarette should,” I didn’t get it either.
Good and well are two more words that are frequently misused. Just the other day during a news report I heard someone praise a group of tweens in his charge by saying, “They all did good.” Certainly, some people use good for comic effect, but many are unaware that the ol’ adverb is needed instead.
All of us make mistakes, but when it’s apparent that a person does not have a clue about correct usage, I just wonder if the speaker or writer has ever had a lesson on tricky expressions such as good and well, like or as, or even alumni and its variations. Take a look at what I remember about alumni, all of which might seem alien to some users:
Gal graduates
• Alumna (singular and refers to one female graduate)
• Alumnae (plural and refers to two or more female graduates)
Male graduates--
• Alumnus (singular and refers to one male graduate)
• Alumni (plural and means two or more male graduates)
Here’s the big one--
Alumni (plural and can also refer to a combination of males and females)
Perhaps usage is evolving. The descriptivist may argue with the prescriptivist that the speaker or writer will yield to whatever expression is the most popular or natural. So, does the grammar policeman arrest the violator or just issue a citation?
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