Words Do Hurt

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According to a recent poll, Americans find the term “whatever” to be the most annoying word in conversation. Here at Columbia, our irritation stems from lingo of a different species: the pseudo-intellectual. We conducted a brief and very unscientific poll to find which words and phrases Columbia students found most irritating:

“Salient”
“Otherizing discourse”
“Engagement with the text”
“Westernization”
“I-banking”
“CAVA” (as a verb)

And the winner:
“Ascetic ideal”

Lesson to Columbians: The Core Curriculum fosters campus-wide use of pretentious vocabulary. Let’s save our salience for the classroom and engage a little more with the television in the common room.