Post Classifieds
Best Buddies striving to help End the Word on campus
By Caitlin Waters
On February 27, 2013
The second annual Spread the Word to End the Word campaign will take place March 5-
7 in the Campbell Student Union.
Spread the Word to End the Word was designed to bring awareness to and help end the
derogatory use of the R-word, or "retard(ed)," which has unfortunately become part of
people's everyday language. Once used to describe people with intellectual disabilities,
it's now used as a synonym for "stupid," "dumb," or even "pointless."
The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness and persuade people to pledge their
support to stop using the R-word.
The annual day of awareness is the first Wednesday of every March, but the campaign
will kick off next Tuesday at Buffalo State. Best Buddies will have a table from
Tuesday through Thursday during Bengal Pause, with collaboration from various other
organizations such as FSA, Pride Alliance, and the Council for Exceptional Children
(CEC).
During this time, students are encouraged to sign Buffalo State's banner or the national
database online on Spread the Word to End the Word's website, www.r-word.com. iPads
and smart phones will be available to use for those who wish to pledge online.
In 2010 President Obama signed Rosa's Law. Rosa's Law, inspired by 9-year-old
Rosa Marcellino, successfully got rid of the terms "mental retardation" and "mentally
retarded." Thanks to that law, those terms are no longer politically correct in federal
health, education, and labor policies.
The terms "intellectual disability" and "individual with intellectual disability" are now
the accepted descriptions.
Jonathan Pollino, the vice president of Best Buddies and co-chair for the Spread the
Word campaign believes awareness is the goal.
"Best Buddies is all about social inclusion and you can't have an inclusive environment
with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities with derogatory terms,"
Pollino said.
Everyone who pledges will receive a button exclaiming that they've spread the word to
end the word. Anyone who pledges will also have the option of getting their picture taken
holding a sign saying they pledged to end the word and Best Buddies will put up the
pictures on their Facebook page.
During the tabling there will also be a DJ, free popcorn and a prize wheel for Spread the
Word to End the Word merchandise, including hats and shirts.
In addition to tabling, there will be an event entitled "Reinvent the R-word...Respect" at
7 p.m. Thursday in the Assembly Hall in Campbell Student Union.
There will be members from Best Buddies putting on musical entertainment and Special
Olympics athletes will be there speaking about what their organization does and how they
feel when the "R" word is used.
A parent of a disabled child will also speak on how the "R" word affects their child's
daily life, as well as a professional who works with kids with disabilities.
CEC treasurer Morgan Brown has high hopes for this year's campaign.
"People will gain more awareness of members of their community who have these
disabilities and how they shouldn't be limited by their appearance or IQ scores," Brown
said.
There will be disability awareness simulation activities, as well as speaker presentations.
These activities will give some insight to the guests on what it's like having autism,
blindness or deafness.
This completely free event will provide small refreshments as well.
"We're not trying to change people's vocabularies, we're trying to change people's
opinions on (those) with disabilities," Best Buddies president Kelly Farrell said.
"The main point of this campaign is to educate people," Pollino said. "The word 'retard'
really is just as mean and hurtful as any other slur."
Caitlin Waters can be reached by email at waters1.record@live.com.
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