Indiana H.S. Swears Off Profanity

Insight on the News, Feb 15, 1999 by Kim Asch

A cuss-control policy teaches students to stop swearing and start searching for more meaningful words to use when expressing themselves.

Profanity once spewed freely through the halls of Southport High School in Indianapolis, often causing students' tempers to rise and fists to fly. Today, civility has replaced hostility at the 1,750-student school since teachers and administrators began vigorous enforcement of an antiprofanity policy in September.

"We have had fewer fights than we've had in years," reports principal Larry Hensley-Marschand. "There is a statistically significant correlation between our new emphasis on the profanity rule and a reduction of fights in school during the day."

Ten or more serious clashes erupted during previous semesters, compared with only two or three this fall. Even more perceptible, Hensley-Marschand says, is the new atmosphere in classrooms, the cafeteria and hallways. "It used to be unpleasant" he says. "It's not unpleasant anymore."

Once reserved for extraordinary situations, swearing now has slithered into the everyday speech of many people, including teachers. "Our language has really deteriorated," says Jim O'Connor, whose No Cuss Academy helps students and professionals clean up their discourse. "There's more swearing going on now than there was at the turn of the century."

And the words are getting raunchier than those of a generation ago. The S-word "is widely tolerated, yet it is crude, offensive and grossly overused," according to O'Connor. He suggests using "shoot" to express anger or frustration, or "stuff" when referring to a number of objects or old-fashioned substitutes in other common phrases: "It's a piece of junk" or "He scared the daylights out of me."

Swearing not only is bad manners, O'Connor says, it's poor communication that shows a lack of imagination and a limited vocabulary. And in a time when students can be accused of sexual harassment, the earlier they clean up their vocabulary the better.

While most schools have rules against foul language, few are diligent in disciplining offenders, says psychologist Timothy Jay, who has written several books on profanity. Educators usually are distracted by more serious problems such as drug use, teen pregnancy and gangs. Many are "just glad when students didn't shoot or rape each other," says Jay.

Southport students' "casual use of profanity" to express everything from anger to delight stunned Hensley-Marschand; so did their nonchalance about cussing within earshot of their teachers. When it dawned on him that every skirmish started with "verbal violence," he called a meeting of parents and faculty and won their support for a tougher antiprofanity policy.

Nowadays, when students are overheard using a bad word, they get detention and their parents receive a phone call describing, verbatim, the offense. The second infraction earns students an in-school suspension. Subsequent violations could see them barred from school for several days.

Even if it didn't curb violence, cracking down on foul language is worth the effort, says Hensley-Marschand. "If civility in society breaks down, then those other problems people consider to be much larger will absolutely explode," he says. If someone has a point to make, rather than punctuate it with profanity, he should learn how to articulate a reasonable argument based on his persuasive abilities and vocabulary, the principal says.

Senior Alana Wilhelm, editor of the student newspaper, asked a student to be a little more "creative" with his language when he submitted a letter for publication complaining that "the new profanity policy sucks." The revised version stated that the policy "inhales vigorously."

That satisfied Hensley-Marschand: "Students rise to the occasion. Raise the bar and they will adjust."