GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The state of Illinois’ legislative body, made up of the Illinois State Senate and the Illinois House of Representatives, also referred to informally as the state legislature. When used following a state name, “Legislature” is capitalized. Ex: the Illinois Legislature.

GENDER-INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE

Make all titles gender-neutral except when used in a quote. Ex: Use spokesperson, alderperson, congressperson, etc. Do not use spokeswoman, congressman, etc. Note: The plural of person is persons, not people; i.e. Alderpersons, spokespersons.

No hyphens when using the phrase gender nonconforming.

Immigration

Never use “illegal immigrant” or “alien.” Use “undocumented immigrant” instead. Use Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program on first reference and DACA on subsequent references. See the immigration entry in the AP Stylebook for more information.

INDIGENOUS/ ABORIGINAL

The Chronicle follows guidance from the Native American Journalists Association: Capitalize in reference to the original inhabitants of a place. Avoid referring to Indigenous people as possessions of a location.

Ex: “the Indigenous people of central Illinois,” not “central Illinois’s Indigenous people.” Prefer Indigenous and specific tribal affiliation over Native American, but go with the individual’s preference if specified.

International Student

Latino

Do not capitalize, as it is not a formal title.

Prefer for groups of people with Latin American ancestry. Use Latino/a/x/e for individuals depending on their personal preferences. Do not use Hispanic unless someone identifies as such [e.g. Someone from Spain], if it is in a quote or if it is used in a data set. Reporters should ask about an individual’s preference.

LGBTQ+

Always use LGBTQ+. Avoid terms such as “homosexual” and “transexual.” Always check with sources for pronouns and labels in reference to their sexual orientation. For example, gay, or lesbian. If someone uses multiple pronouns, ask for them and use what they prefer in print. For example, a source may use she/they pronouns and clarify how they would like to be referred to in print. Use of multiple pronouns throughout a story is acceptable, but only use one pronoun per graf.

Trans is the preferred term over transgender or transexual. Transgender may be used in some situations, but transexual should never be used unless explicitly preferred by the person in question.

As directed by the Trans Journalists Association, avoid using the phrase “identifies as” to write about a person’s gender or sexuality when replacing it with “is” doesn’t change the meaning of the sentence. For example, “Smith is genderfluid,” not “Smith identifies as genderfluid.”

Names

For performance names: If a current Columbia student, use both their given name and their performance name. For professional performers, use their stage name unless their given name is pertinent to the story. For example, “John Smith, an attorney, is performing as drag queen Jane Doe for a charity event.”

Ex: Are you comfortable that this interview may be used online and in print and possibly in our podcast? (In addition to pronoun identification.)

Exception: If covering a lawsuit involving a person of prominence, always use their legal name.