I go to school at a university with an extremely diverse population of students and professors. There is no minority or majority here; everyone is completely different. It's a cultural, ethnic, and social melting pot, which I think is great. But somehow, people are still using words and phrases in their daily conversations that easily upset a large portion of this campus's (and this city's) population. These are just a few things that I've heard said on my campus that I feel shouldn't be said anywhere.

"That's so gay."

I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't aware that being gay was a negative thing? From my understanding, it simply means loving an individual of the same sex as yourself. If you want to describe something in a negative way, "gay" should not be the first word that comes to mind. It blows my mind that there are people out there that still use this phrase in a derogatory way. There is absolutely nothing negative about being homosexual. Loving someone of the same sex does not make anyone a lesser person, so there is no need to devalue them in this way.

"That's retarded."

This is something that I feel is brought to the forefront of social media quite a bit. There are so many campaigns about "spreading the word to end the word", and I love that there is so much initiative being taken against this type of language. Some organizations have even gotten celebrity endorsements to help them out with this. But why is it still being said so frequently? Disabilities are common anywhere you go, that's just a fact of life. So instead of speaking about those with mental or physical disabilities in a negative light, we should be speaking up with them against this type of language. No one should have to feel like a lesser person because they are disabled.

"That exam absolutely raped me."

Have you been raped? Do you know someone that has been raped? Are you aware of how traumatic of an event that is for survivors of rape or assault? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you should NEVER use this phrase. Ever. Rape is such a serious problem on almost every college campus known to man and is not an issue that should be taken lightly. Someone who has been raped should not have to have a flashback because you mentioned that word and brought it back to their mind.

These are just the tip of the iceberg, but they all have a common theme; they hurt. They all make a certain group of people feel lesser than, inferior, and discriminated against. The bottom line is that we are all humans with the same basic biological needs. Using a word in a derogatory matter that could also be used to describe who someone is or a part of their identity is not something that we as a population should let happen. We should be working towards limiting labels and accepting each other, not bringing each other down. Most people who feel offended by your words won't have the courage to tell you so consider your words carefully.