UNLV law school apologizes for using word ‘picnic,’ changes it to ‘Lunch by the Lake’

A scheduled “picnic” sponsored by the University of Nevada Las Vegas Law School’s Environmental Law Society has been renamed “Lunch by the Lake” due to “diversity and inclusion” concerns.

According to a memo obtained by Libs of TikTok, the law group informed members that the word “picnic” has “historical and offensive connotations,” and apologized for “any harm or discomfort” caused by its use.

The group’s view mirrors that of the University of Michigan’s IT department from several years ago: “Picnic” was included in a “Words Matter Task Force’s” list of offensive words and phrases along with “brown bag,” “blacklist” and “long time, no see” among others.

At the time, Reuters did a fact check on the alleged offensiveness of “picnic”; its verdict: It “does not originate from racist lynchings” but instead comes from the 300-plus-year-old French word “pique-nique,” meaning a potluck-like social gathering.