Plan B Forum

Harvard University in the US is going to remove the word "master" from academic titles, after protests from students who claimed the title had echoes of slavery.



House masters, in charge of residential halls at the university, will become known as "faculty deans".

Harvard Law School is also deciding whether to change its official seal, because of links to slavery.

US campuses have faced a series of protests over allegations of racism.

Harvard has not agreed that the use of "master" represented a link to slavery, but it has accepted campaigners' calls for a name change.

It will mean changing the job titles of 24 members of staff - but will not affect other uses of "master", such as a master's level degree.

Harvard academics say that the word "master" derives from the Latin term "magister" - a form of address for scholars or teachers. It is similar to terms such as "school master" or "head master".

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Organizers of an upcoming comedy festival in New York City are telling straight men to move over with a submission policy that takes a stance on gender equality issues.

The upcoming Cinder Block Comedy Festival is currently only accepting submissions from women, non-white applicants and members of the LGBTQ community — a move they say is an effort to curate a diverse lineup of performers.


“Having a token LGBTQ person of color woman, in a sea of white bearded men is not diversity,” the group proclaims in a video on the comedy festival’s website. “As an audience you deserve more than one point of view.”

The early-bird submission, running from Feb. 15 to March 15, also allows applicants to pay a cheaper fee of $19.25.

All other submissions, including ones from what festival organizers call “token bearded white dudes,” run from March 15 through April 15, with applicants paying a $25 submission fee.

The Cinder Block Comedy festival — run by an all-female staff — is the brainchild of Festival Director Coree Spencer, who drew inspiration for the idea after she was severely injured from being hit by a flying cinder block on the Puslaki Bridge, according to an open letter on the festival’s website.


Spencer said the difference in price was to mimic the gender pay gap between men and women, the Daily Caller reported. The difference in price is 77 percent.

The Cinder Block Comedy Festival is slated to to run at a venue in Williamsburg from Sept. 15-18.

“Having a token LGBTQ person of color woman, in a sea of white bearded men is not diversity,”

but will not affect other uses of "master", such as a master's level degree.