The American Dialect Society, a society dedicated to the study of English and other languages in North America, had an annual meeting in Washington D.C. Jan. 8 confirming the singular “they,” the gender neutral pronoun, has been named the Word of the Year (2015).

Our current generation is more accepting of people’s differences and cultures than our past generations. We support lesbians, gays, bisexual, transgender, and queers (LGBTQ). Using the pronoun “they” is a safe word, it doesn’t offend people if they prefer to be called by a different pronoun.

Senior, Morgan Dickey, identifies herself as a lesbian and prefers to be called by the pronoun “she.” Although she’s often called “he.”

“I’m used to being called sir, I prefer to be called a girl but I don’t get offended because look like a boy so it’s understandable,” Dickey said.

The recent approval of the gender neutral pronoun is good because it helps create less conflict in our society especially among young people. It helps bring our generation closer and makes us have something in common.

It makes us have peace and helps us accept each other differences, which helps us experience greater personal growth.