'Senior' label perpetuates a geriatric stereotype
TO THE EDITOR: In response to Lauren Refinetti’s response (“Words create meaning: Replace ‘freshman’ label,” Dec. 1) to Saffa Khan’s column (“Why I’m not a ‘first-year’ student,” Nov. 30): You never say or even imply this, but you, like most, probably think that the call for the use of the term “fourth-year” instead of “senior” is “irrational,” but you are thinking too narrowly. The impact of geriatric terms comes not from the sheer offensiveness of one word but in the combined effect.