University Says Don't Try And Trick Us By Disguising Your Christmas Party As A Holiday Party

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

According to the University of Tennessee���s Office for Diversity and Inclusion, the best holiday parties hosted on campus are those that do not include Christ���you know, the very reason for the season���on the guest list.

While declaring at the outset of its online document ���Best Practices for Inclusive Holiday Celebrations in the Workplace��� that the university has no official policy regarding religious and/or cultural celebration, the piece immediately moves on to warning against the holding of holiday parties that reflect any sort of religious theme. Take, for example, this line: ���Ensure your holiday party is not a Christmas party in disguise.���

Huh?

For starters, let me just say how ridiculous it is that a university would bother putting out any sort of document in the first place that outlines the ���best practices��� of a holiday party. Best practices? For a holiday party?

If I were any of the people at UT���s Office for Diversity and Inclusion, I would be afraid that others, after reading this drivel, might get the idea that the unit is overstaffed, underworked, or some combination of the two. After all, if that crew really has the time to publish something so patently silly, clearly there���s not enough going on there of substance that demands their time. You want more proof? The ���Best Practices��� document even goes as far, and is as specific, as to recommend that ���refreshment selection should be general, not specific to any religion or culture.��� Secret Santa gift exchanges? Those are mentioned, as well, as ���do-not do���s.���

This would be funny if it wasn���t completely serious. Alas, it is all too serious, in that it serves as another stark reminder for us all that political correctness is no longer just an annoyance, but something that continues to insidiously worm its way into the very fabric of the American way of life.