The group’s view mirrors that of the University of Michigan’s IT department from several years ago<\/a>: “Picnic” was included in a \u201cWords Matter Task Force’s” list of offensive words and phrases along with “brown bag,” “blacklist” and “long time, no see” among others.<\/p>\n At the time, Reuters did a fact check<\/a> on the alleged offensiveness of “picnic”; its verdict: It “does not originate from racist lynchings” but instead comes from the 300-plus-year-old French word \u201cpique-nique,\u201d meaning a potluck-like social gathering.<\/p>\n The UNLV event memo even uses “potluck” (pictured).<\/em><\/p>\n Still, Reuters claimed 19th and 20th-century lynchings of black Americans “often occurred in gatherings that could be referred to as picnics.” But a PolitiFact<\/a> article noted the term historians actually use is “spectacle lynchings” — where people “took photographs and looked for souvenirs.”<\/p>\n Ferris State University’s David Pilgrim, curator of the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia, said “it\u2019s possible someone used the word ‘picnic’ to refer to lynchings, but ‘what we know for a fact is that\u2019s not where the word ‘picnic’ came from.'”<\/p>\n In 2021, a student group at Brandeis University ended up deleting<\/a> “picnic” from a list of “oppressive” words and phrases in response to massive mockery.<\/p>\n The College Fix\u00a0<\/em>asked UNLV Environmental Law Society President Julianna Ness precisely how “picnic” is offensive; she did not respond.<\/p>\n The Fix<\/em> has long documented universities’ word policing; other terms<\/a> considered offensive over the last few years include “chief,” “step,” “ladies and gentlemen,” “snowflake,” “brainstorm” and “American.”<\/p>\n Right now The College Fix<\/em> has a back-to-school campaign to help us continue to support our amazing student journalists. A donation today<\/a><\/span> will be matched thanks to a generous limited-time matching gift opportunity from a friend of The Fix<\/em>! CLICK HERE<\/a><\/span> for more details — and thank you!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n![\"Image\"](\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/F7x8LbfXMAAAIkL?format=jpg&name=large\")