(FORTUNE Magazine) – Is it or isn't it okay to say ''freshman''? Our country needs to know. Increasingly suspect because of those three nasty letters at the end, the term is causing attacks of nerves in our educational and political establishments. In collegeland, it has been banned by the Yale Daily News, also by The Yale (a guide); both now say ''freshperson.'' Yet Yale College Programs of Study, fearlessly edited by Lois K. Jameson, still says ''freshman.'' A Harvard spokesman says this traditional usage is still allowed at his institution but cautiously added that ''we sometimes refer to 'first years' when we want to be gender inclusive.'' The Princeton PR lady says that nobody wants to be dictatorial, then added that ''first-year students'' is now the norm. Echoing our own sentiments, she observed that ''freshperson'' seemed to her ''a self-conscious construct.'' The lady at Cornell reports that they solve the problem by just saying ''class of '97.'' Elsewhere in the Ivy League, Penn and Dartmouth claim to be sticking stoutly with ''freshman.'' The chap at Brown says there is no official policy at his institution but considerably diminished his credibility by adding, ''It's one of those things we don't pay much attention to.'' Columbia admits to paying attention and has settled firmly on ''first-year students.'' Across the country at Stanford, they tell us that you can say anything you want but ''frosh'' is increasingly sighted. This archaic term, which we thought went out with Frank Merriwell, is apparently looking like the answer to a person's prayer at numerous other institutions as well. A search of the Nexis database turned up an incredible 692 articles mentioning ''frosh'' since 1989. Typically, the reporter was operating on the college-sports beat. And wanted to be gender inclusive. The politicians' problem with ''freshman'' has become especially noticeable since the 1992 elections. Alcee Hastings, the Florida judge who was impeached by the House of Representatives and later removed from the bench but then turned around and won election to the House, was quoted in January as promising to avoid ''speaking out more than a freshperson should.'' At a press conference held to introduce women new to Congress, Eva Clayton, a North Carolina Democrat, was asked whether the group would work together as a bloc. Her answer: ''You can expect that the women in the freshmen -- freshperson -- new-member class will continue to be a force.'' Especially if they can decide what to call themselves.