let's fix the pronoun problem

[Merrill Oveson]

On 5/25/08, Levi Pearson <levi at cold.org> wrote:
>
> Same reason all other such attempts have failed:  It sounds
> ridiculous.  Using the third-person pronouns has wide acceptance and a
> long history, and will soon be accepted even by stuffy prescriptivist
> grammarians.  Here's Cecil Adams' take on it:
> http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_245b.html
>
> On Sun, May 25, 2008 at 8:39 PM, Merrill Oveson <moveson at gmail.com> wrote:
> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > From: Merrill Oveson <moveson at gmail.com>
> > Date: May 25, 2008 8:39 PM
> > Subject: let's fix the pronoun problem
> > To: pluglist at plug.org
> >
> > I like this solution, and since english is open source - why not.
> >
> > http://www.aese.org/SUM96/GENDER.HTM
> >
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>
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Using the third-person pronouns has wide acceptance and a
long history, and will soon be accepted even by stuffy prescriptivist
grammarians.

So the sentence, "A student should put in long hours of study so they can
master the subject."
After years of being docked for this, I should now start to use it?


Here's Cecil Adams' take on it:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_245b.html

Do you have a link to his paper on it?

I'd like to go back to:
"A student should put in long hours of study so he can master the subject."

The "he" meaning he or she.