Alphabetical Entries: R
race Consider carefully when deciding whether to identify people by race. Often, it is an irrelevant factor and drawing unnecessary attention to someone’s race or ethnicity can be interpreted as bigotry. There are, however, occasions when race is pertinent:
- When describing significant, groundbreaking or historic events (Sonia Sotomayor is the first Hispanic justice of the U.S. Supreme Court)
- When describing physical characteristics of a suspect, missing person or in any other case when visual identifiers are useful (Police are looking for a man described as white, about 6 feet tall, with black hair and blue eyes, wearing a plaid shirt)
- When describing a demonstration, disturbance or other conflict involving race (including verbal conflicts), or discussing issues like civil rights.
In all other situations, include racial or ethnic details only when they are clearly relevant and that relevance is explicit in the story. Do not use a derogatory term except in rare circumstances when it is crucial to the readers’ understanding of an event or situation being discussed. See also the nationalities and races entry.
room Completely identify a location by including the building name and the room's number (in figures): Coykendall Science Building 210, Lecture Center 102. Do not use the word "room" except in rare cases: Student Union Multipurpose Room. (Multipurpose is one word)
