Face-off

faculty rank Include designations of faculty rank with faculty members’ names when they appear in formal, running text.

faculty, staff Each refers to a group of people and each may take singular or plural verbs depending on context.

Treat them as singular when writing of the entity acting together as a single body:

• The faculty supports the new requirements.
• The staff will attend the department retreat in the Root Room.

Treat them as plural when speaking of them as individuals taking various actions, or as part of the whole:

• Some staff were sent home with stomach flu.
• A dozen faculty participated in the presidential debate.

fall semester Do not capitalize.

farther, further Use farther to indicate physical distance: He walked farther into the woods. Further refers to an extension of time or degree: She will look further into the matter.

fellow, fellowship Lowercase unless used with proper names. He studied in Europe as a Thomas J. Watson Fellow. He is a Watson fellow. She applied for a fellowship from the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship Program.

fewer, less Use fewer when referring to objects that can be counted: We have fewer than 3,000 students this year.

Use less for indicating bulk or quantity: I had less than $50 in my wallet. They gave less than their best.

first come, first served (n.) Tickets are available first come, first served. But hyphenate if used as an adjective: We will admit patrons on a first-come, first-served basis.

first-year (n., adj.) Oberlin style is to use first-year student or first-year on second and subsequent references*.* See bias-free language.

first year This is her first year at Oberlin.

First-Year Seminar Program Introductory courses for students new to a liberal arts education. Use full name on first reference. Subsequent reference can use the informal first-year seminar or FYSP. Oberlin's First-Year Seminar Program offers 100 different seminars. She took a first-year seminar on diet and nutrition. This is the 15th anniversary of the FYSP.

foreign language See world language

foreign student, foreigner Use international student. See bias-free language.

foreign words and phrases Foreign words and phrases familiar to most readers and listed in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary are not italicized if used in an English context; they should be spelled as in Webster’s (summa cum laude, roman à clef, a priori).

German nouns, if in Webster’s, are lowercased (weltanschauung).

Use italics for isolated words and phrases in a foreign language that are likely to be unfamiliar to readers.

Honi soit qui mal y pense is the motto of the Order of the Garter.

If a familiar foreign term, such as mise en scène, should occur in the same context as a less familiar one, such as mise en abyme (not listed in Webster’s), either both or neither should be italicized, so as to maintain internal consistency.