What's in a Name?

In what must seem like a revolutionary concept to the Harvard community, we agree with Dean Lewis.

"Freshman" is an accepted term for those who are in their first year at a school. "First-year" is an ugly hyphenated creation that binds speakers or writers into confusing structures. For instance, would a "first-year Undergraduate Council president" be a freshman or just someone who is in his or her first year of the presidency?

And many Harvard females get along fine with commonly-used terms that happen to end with the suffix "-man." For instance, no Harvard or Radcliffe women's athletic team uses gender-neutral terms, i.e., nobody says "person of defense" instead of "defenseman." The word "freshman" no longer has any sexist connotations.

Dean Lewis has seen the problems with the council's proposal and has made a wise choice. What's in a name?