The debate over whether "niggardly" is a racially offensive word hit academe Monday, when a black student at the University of Wisconsin at Madison objected to a professor's use of the term in the classroom.

The student, Amelia Rideau, related the incident before the university's Faculty Senate Monday, when she urged professors to maintain a strict speech code on the campus.

Niggardly is defined as stingy, and though it sounds similar to...

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