Michigan State Training: Avoid Trigger Words Like 'But' and 'I Apologize'

As students went back to school at Michigan State University, those who wanted to make an extra buck working on campus were in for a rude awakening. At a mandatory student employee training, administrators told them to avoid words like "but" and phrases like "no problem" and "I apologize." According to the training, these words and phrases are "triggers" that could make people uncomfortable.

"Raise your hand if you’ve ever said 'no problem.' Did you ever think that was a trigger?" MSU Facilities Manager Sheena Ballbach asked student employees, according to Campus Reform. "I say this all the time and never thought that this could be a trigger word. But if I’m saying 'no problem,' that’s leading a customer to believe that they could be a problem or they could be an inconvenience to you and we’re just assuring them that they’re not."

The training featured a presentation with a page on "triggers" and "calmers." According to that page, the trigger phrase "I apologize..." should be replaced with the calmer phrase, "I am truly sorry..." The trigger phrase "I don't know..." should be replaced with the calmer phrase, "I'll find out & get back to you..." The trigger phrase "It's our policy..." should be replaced with the calmer phrase 'Here's what we can do..."

Taking a page out of Chick-fil-A's book, the presentation suggested, "You're welcome, it was my pleasure..." to replace "No problem..."

With all seriousness, the presentation suggested that the trigger phrase "But..." should be replaced with the calmer phrase "And..."

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Those poor student employees had no idea the kind of Orwellian nightmare they were entering. Just imagine going one day without using the word "but," and choosing to say "and" instead. This mandatory training is directing students to alter their thinking — to never use a contrasting conjunction but always use a connecting conjunction.

As National Review's Kat Timpf pointed out, this completely ignores what words actually mean. The phrase "no problem" clearly makes the point that the customer is not a problem. As difficult as it would be to avoid using "but" all day, using the word "and" instead would not really change the meaning of most sentences. Timpf used the example, "I love you, but I don't want to be with you anymore." Is it any less hurtful to say, "I love you, and I don't want to be with you anymore?" The point is the meaning of the sentence, not the word "but."

From the Campus Reform report, it seems the administrators had too much authority for the students to ask the simple question, "Why, in the name of all that is holy, do you want us to avoid using the word 'but'?!" Somehow, the question never came up.

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