Motion to standardise gender-equitable language unanimously adopted

Dear students,

At yesterday's 2nd ordinary meeting of the winter semester 2020/2021, the Queer Department introduced a motion with the following title: Standardisation of gender-equitable and gender-inclusive language in internal and external communication of the Student Union at Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences

I am very pleased to report that the motion has been approved unanimously and can thus be implemented in the coming weeks. However, many of you will now ask yourselves: "What is this proposal actually about?

Currently, various forms of gender-appropriate and gender-inclusive language are used in both the internal and external communication of the ÖH at Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences. In the future, binary forms ("/", "Binnen-I", explicit writing with two genders, etc.) should be avoided, as these only suggest two existing genders. In addition to the binary forms, all other forms should also be dispensed with in favour of the colon (":") or the use of the plural (unless this corresponds to the generic masculine).

Why exactly should one change to a colon now, when the gender asterisk has only just found its way in?

The use of a colon has the advantage that the flow of the text is minimally impaired, screen readers can read out text appropriately (not the case with an "*", for example) and is optimally suited for inclusive addressing of all persons. If the use of the plural is possible, it can be used instead of the colon.

The entire team of the Queer Department is pleased to be able to implement this important concern in cooperation with the other deparments and Head of Deparments. We are also happy to support students with this issue and are always available for enquiries.

Attached to the article is the full text of the motion (German only).

Yours sincerely,
Dominic Luidold on behalf of the entire Queer Department