UW-Eau Claires Spread the Word to End the Word banner
Lindsay Steig—College Buddy Director, Jenna Evans--Membership Co-Chair, and Krista Sershen
by JULIE CAAN
Best Buddies Wisconsin
Best Buddies Wisconsin Chapters work to Spread the Word to End the Word at their schools.
In our society it’s easy to get caught up in the latest trends or with the newest fad. Unfortunately, what’s cool isn’t always what’s right. Groups of friends adopt words and phrases as their own with little regard for a word’s original meaning and context. Pop culture phenomena’s like 2004’s smash hit Mean Girls may make it seem okay to use hurtful words in social settings-but it’s not okay.
That’s why Best Buddies and Special Olympics teamed up on March 3rd for the Spread the Word to End the Word day of awareness. The R-Word’s hurtful impact on people with intellectual and developmental disabilities needs be recognized. This outdated, hurtful and de-humanizing word has worked its way into the contexts of everyday conversation. For Best Buddies Wisconsin students, March 3rd was a day used to raise awareness and promote social change among their peers.
At Wauwatosa Tosa East High School, Leslie Dess and her chapter organized to raise the conscience levels of fellow students and teachers in and out of the classroom. For Leslie and her chapter, spreading the word knows no boundaries.
“On the Tuesday after the campaign, we had "teach-ins" during second hour. For this we divided the buddy pairs into teams of four and each team was assigned a group of classrooms. The buddies and peer buddies informed the student body on disability awareness and why we believed the R-Word campaign was so important,” Leslie said. Proof that passionate people are able to achieve anything with hard work, the chapter reached the entire school with its message in just an hour.
On the day of, Buddies blanketed the school with 15 posters where students were able to take pledges to stop using the R-Word. Participants in the campaign received candy and were entered into a drawing after taking the pledge. According to Leslie, the chapter had such overwhelming support that teams of four to five students were able to travel the halls promoting the campaign and encouraging students to sign the posters. All total the chapter collected over 1,000 pledges! Beyond pieces of paper, 1,000 signatures, translates into more informed and compassionate people.
“I feel like this campaign has been great to spread awareness of the true meaning of the word and how demeaning and derogatory it actually is. I hope people now think before they use the R-Word and choose to use a less offensive one or not one at all,” said Leslie.
At University of Wisconsin Eau Claire College Buddy Director Lindsay Steig and her chapter took a slightly different, but still successful approach to gather support on a college campus. First, the chapter created a huge banner that read: UW-Eau Claire pledges to end the derogatory, conversational use of the word RETARD(ED).
“On March 2nd we sat in our Student Center and handed out flyers, sold bracelets, and enlightened people as to why the R-Word is hurtful to us and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” added Lindsay.
On March 3rd, the group sat outside of campus dining hall areas where virtually all students pass before going to eat. To create even more buzz, several articles about the chapter’s events were featured in the university’s newspaper.
Overall, Lindsay shared that the campaign was a success, but knows that more can always be done to reach an even larger audience. As an aspiring Special Education school teacher, she realizes that many people struggle to stop using the derogatory term in everyday conversations, but recognizes that a conscience effort needs to be made in order to stop.
“I think it's hard to say how they can stop. If need be they could keep tallies to see how much they really say it, or wear a rubber band and snap it each time they do.”
It’s difficult to end a bad habit or to stop using a word that has become second nature. However, as hardworking chapters and individuals have proved over the last month; anything is possible if you make a conscience effort. Best Buddies Wisconsin would like to thank all the chapters who have participated in the Spread the Word to End the Campaign and everyone who has taken a pledge of acceptance. Even though the day of awareness has come and gone, it’s important to be mindful of its message: Think before you speak, change starts with you.
“My hope is that the R-Word campaign is ongoing and is something that Best Buddies embraces and doesn't just do for one day,” said Lindsay.
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