MySlice, My Pronouns

Graphic by Olivia Smith

You can do many things on MySlice, Syracuse University’s official student portal. Doom-scroll through your Degree Works, pretend to read the Stay Safe pledge, stalk the student directory- the choices are endless. But did you know that in addition to these features, you can also add your pronouns to your personal info on MySlice? Yeah, we didn’t either.

We wouldn’t say this feature is hidden; if you go under Personal Profile, click the Biographic tab, and scroll all the way down, there at the bottom lies the Pronouns option. The drop-down menu includes options like Ask me, He/Him, He/They, No Pronouns (Use My Name), Prefer not to say, She/Her, She/They, They/Them, and Ze/Hir. While this feature makes choosing pronouns available to all students, many people don’t even know it’s there. Those that do feel unsatisfied with it, and wish they could write in their preferred pronouns instead of having to choose from a limited amount. One transmasc student commented, “I use he/they, but personally, I prefer it to be ordered they/he... but that’s not an option [on MySlice].” The lack of neopronouns is also limiting and upsetting, with “Ze/Hir” being the only available option. Students aren’t the only ones who are unsatisfied with this feature. Some professors have mentioned that viewing a student’s pronouns can be complicated, especially in classes of more than a hundred students. Professors may not know if a student of theirs has changed their preferred name or updated their pronouns and are likely to misgender or deadname a student. The same applies to Barnes; nurses and practitioners don’t have access to a student’s preferred name or pronouns, as they can’t even access a student’s MySlice page (we think they could at least try to ask their patient for their preferred name and pronouns right before the classic “how are you feeling,” but

that’s a story for another time). Even though students are required to review and verify our MySlice information at the beginning of every semester, there is no explicit notification or message that asks about your pronouns specifically; you’re required to fill out information such as your marital status and military status, so why can’t they ask you to check the pronouns tab as well? While it doesn’t have to be enforced, if SU wants this feature to be taken advantage of, the least they could do is inform students it’s there. When we asked a student if they have their pronouns filled out on MySlice, their answer spoke for the feature’s lack of prominence. “If it was like a part of a signup, probably? If not, then I really don’t know.”

The acknowledgment of pronouns is becoming more prevalent than ever in our culture, with pronouns popping up at the end of emails, next to names on Zoom, in social media bios, and more. While it’s great that MySlice has pronoun and preferred name features, they’re pointless if people don’t know they exist. And so, to whoever decided that the pronouns tab should be a hidden drop-down menu with limited options: we hope both sides of your pillow are forever warm </3.