see1@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP (Ellen Seebacher) (09/17/86)
Ranjit Bhatnagar writes: >I'm about to apply to graduate schools, so I'll be writing a lot of >letters to various admissions departments. I would like to find non- >sexist alternatives to the usual greetings "Dear Sirs" and "Gentlemen" >which don't sound TOO forced. Any suggestions are appreciated. > > Ranjit Your best bet is always, repeat ALWAYS, to use the name of the person to whom you are writing. If you know enough about a department to be applying to it, you should possess the name of its director -- if not in its own publications, then in the various commercial school guides. However: in my other incarnation, as an administrative assistant (i.e., glorified secretary), I write a lot of letters asking for information from unknown persons. I almost always use "Dear Sir or Madam:", but when I get bored, I use "Dear Madam or Sir:". Try it. You'll like it. Ellen Keyne Seebacher, Admin. Asst., Arthur L. Conn & Associates, Ltd. (Advisor, Univ. of Chicago Computation Center: known_world!ihnp4!gargoyle!sphinx!see1) -- Ellen Keyne Seebacher ihnp4!gargoyle!sphinx!see1
wong@rtech.UUCP (J. Wong) (09/18/86)
How about taking a cue from the Beatles? "Dear Sir or Madam ..." (From "Paperback Writer".) -- J. Wong ucbvax!mtxinu!rtech!wong **************************************************************** You start a conversation, you can't even finish it. You're talking alot, but you're not saying anything. When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed. Say something once, why say it again. - David Byrne
figmo@lll-crg.ARpA (Lynn Gold) (09/18/86)
In article <614@rosevax.UUCP> carole@rosevax.UUCP (Carole Ashmore) writes: >In article <157@zen.BERKELEY.EDU>, ranjit@cory.Berkeley.EDU (Ranjit Bhatnagar) writes: >> I'm about to apply to graduate schools, so I'll be writing a lot of >> letters to various admissions departments. I would like to find non- >> sexist alternatives to the usual greetings "Dear Sirs" and "Gentlemen" >> which don't sound TOO forced. Any suggestions are appreciated. > Avoid "To Whom It May Concern." According to a study done a few years ago, this particular greeting was considered offensive even by many working women. Unless you know the specific name and/or title, I'd recommend being impersonal. --Lynn -- UUCP: ...lll-crg!figmo ARPA: Lynn%PANDA@SUMEX-AIM *********************************************************************** * Any resemblance between my postings and any person, living or dead, * * is purely coincidental. Besides, I'm only a guest user here... * ***********************************************************************
cvh@iuvax.UUCP (09/18/86)
Ihave found that I remember and appreciate any effort at avoiding a traditional sexist style in writing letters. Also, it is depressing to see "Dear Sirs" and "Gentlemen" all the time, and after taking other subtle hints that I'm not a man and don't fit in all day,it can make me angry.
eric@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Eric Lund) (09/18/86)
Dear People of Usenet, The salutation that I use is "Dear People of __________". "Greetings!" sounds perfectly acceptable to me, save that it is the salutation used by the Draft Board. "Greetings! Your friends and neighbors have selected you...." is a phrase with which to frighten 'Nam era nonvets. Eric the DBA
terry@nrcvax.UUCP (Terry Grevstad) (09/19/86)
rob@dadla.UUCP (Rob Vetter) says: >>I'm about to apply to graduate schools, so I'll be writing a lot of >>letters to various admissions departments. I would like to find non- >>sexist alternatives to the usual greetings "Dear Sirs" and "Gentlemen" >>which don't sound TOO forced. Any suggestions are appreciated. > > I used to use "People:" for the greeting. Now, unless I > know who I'm writing to, I usually leave the greeting off > completely. Ah, come on folks! Remember that nine times out of ten a secretary reads these things first. Give her something to remember at the end of the day. Having worked in a university office, I still fondly recall the unusual greetings people came up with. ``Gentle sirs and ladies'' was one of my favorites. ``Howdy, y'all'' (from Texas, to be sure) was another. ``To Anyone in Power'' got a lot of attention too! We presented these types of letters to our bosses with lots of recommendations and on top of the stacks. Of course, ``we'' did not work for Harvard, Yale or Princeton, just little ole BYU, where we considered ourselves ``just plain folks'' and enjoyed the clever turn of a phrase. -- _______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- without a Terry Grevstad ECNALG Network Research Corporation ihnp4!nrcvax!terry {sdcsvax,hplabs}!sdcrdcf!psivax!nrcvax!terry _______________________________________________________________________ -----------------------------------------------------------------------
jec@iuvax.UUCP (09/19/86)
When I was writing off to graduate schools I solved the problem
by not opening the letter with any sort of salutation. While this might
seen a little rude, it is better than saying something like, "Hey you,"
or making them think they are getting suicide notes with "To whom it may
concern." Anyway, it looks more businessy (this is a Beta-word so it
isn't in any dictionaries yet).
III Usenet: {ihnp4,pur-ee,purdue}!iuvax!jec,
UUU I UUU jec@iuvax.EDU
U I U
U I U Phone: (812) 335-5561
U I U U.S. Mail: Indiana University
UUUUUUU Dept. of Computer Science
I 021-C Lindley Hall
III Bloomington, IN. 47405
jsm@vax1.ccs.cornell.edu (Jon Meltzer) (09/20/86)
In article <633@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP> see1@sphinx.UUCP (Ellen Seebacher) writes: > >However: in my other incarnation, as an administrative assistant (i.e., >glorified secretary), I write a lot of letters asking for information >from unknown persons. I almost always use "Dear Sir or Madam:", but >when I get bored, I use "Dear Madam or Sir:". Try it. You'll like it. Good point! I know that I would not want to work for anyone that was offended by the "reverse" :-) form.
eliz@rochester.ARPA (Elizabeth Hinkelman) (09/20/86)
I used "Dear Admissions Officer" when applying to grad schools, but if I were doing it again I would make a point of finding out who the admissions committee chair was. For Ph.D programs you will chat with that person someday anyhow. But I have once had another problem. I knew the name, but no title or gender. My department secretary suggested "Dr. X", on the grounds that X was at a university and would be flattered rather than offended if the designation were inaccurate. Another time I might try "M. X", since I would rather be "M."d myself than "Sir or Madam"d. "Madam or Sir" sounds good, but I'd feel obliged to drop off the name (maybe this is silly on my part?) Suggestions anyone? Elizabeth Hinkelman
hxe@rayssd.UUCP (Heather Emanuel) (09/24/86)
Well, several of my friends have told me that it's radical, and not
a whole lot of people are using it yet, but it's catching on in the
business world and *I* like it a lot, so here goes:
I leave the salutation off. Yep, just leave it blank. The header
of the letter is so full of stuff anyway, with your return address
and the business address, that it's not as though you're leaving a
huge whole in the paper or anything. You'd be surprised how few
people really notice that it's missing. Frankly, I'd *much* rather
get a letter like that than one that sounds forced or that is wrong.
Here's a sample:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
00 My Street Road
Mytown, XX 11111
Director of Admissions
College of my Choice
1 University Row
Anytown, USA 00000
9/24/86
Enclosed are copies of the 800 papers I have published this year and
letters of recommendation from 9 heads of foreign states describing
my academic achievements. I am intrigued by your university's
reputation and I am interested in any programs you have in my field.
Could you please send me more info ASAP, as I am soon leaving to
star in a television movie based on my life?
I am sorry that I could not address you personally, but I was unable
to find your name in any reference book available on earth.
Sincerely,
Heather Emanuel
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, you get the idea....
--
--Heather Emanuel
{allegra,cci632,gatech,ihnp4,linus,mirror,raybed2} rayssd!hxe
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I don't think my company *has* an opinion, so the ones in this
article are obviously my own.
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"The woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that
sing the best." --Thoreauabc@brl-smoke.ARPA (Brint Cooper ) (09/25/86)
The original posting asked for an appropriate greeting for a business
letter. For years, I've used "Dear Reader: " and have always felt
quite comfortable with it.
--
Brint Cooper
ARPA: abc@brl.arpa
UUCP: ...{seismo,unc,decvax,cbosgd}!brl-smoke!abc