Come fall, fans of the University of Utah’s football program will no longer necessarily sing the word “man” in their traditional, century-old athletic event fight song.
That’s because student body officers and appointed task force officials deemed that word sexist — offensive to women — and changed it to the word “fan,” NBC News reported.
The song, titled “I am a Utah man,” was written in 1904 by a former university football coach. The line that was deemed especially offensive was “our coeds are the fairest,” NBC News said. The substitute line reads “our students are the finest.”
Also changed was the line “no other gang of college men” to “no rival band of college fans.”
Throughout the song, all references of “man” were also changed to “fan,” NBC News reported.
The substitutions came from a task force that was established by the university’s president, David Pershing, earlier this year to see if the public wanted the changes.
“When printed officially by the university, this 2014 version of the fight song will be used, but historical renditions of the song will always be acceptable,” Mr. Pershing said in a statement reported by NBC News. “We encourage you to sing — loudly and with pride — whichever version resonates with you.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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