There are 1,025,109 words in the English language, yet for some students and faculty one word is more irritating than any other: retard. This group of people are trying to educate other students and faculty on the importance of choosing another word to describe how you feel about something. Their overall goal is to eliminate the use of the words “retard” and “retarded” with a new r-word: respect.

Sophomore Rebecca Joskow is a very active member of Best Buddies, a club aiming to create leadership, job and friendship opportunities for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), and she believes the r-word should never be used.  

“Some people at Yorktown might think that using the r-word as slang during casual conversation or as a way to describe certain individuals is socially acceptable, but it is not. The use of the r-word is hurtful and demeaning to people with intellectual disabilities,” said Joskow.

March 2, 2016 marks the eighth annual day of awareness for Spread the Word to End the Word, an international campaign started by Special Olympics and Best Buddies to raise awareness about the dehumanizing and hurtful effects of the word “retard(ed)” and encourage people to pledge to stop using the r-word. The campaign is intended to unite schools and communities that pledge their support in building a world of acceptance and inclusion.

“Spread the Word day is a time to encourage people to have accepting attitudes by not defining people with this derogatory term. It doesn’t make you sound “cool” when you use the r-word. It makes you sound like someone whose vocabulary is filled with hate speech and who doesn’t understand the effect their choice of words has on people,” said Joskow.

Often the r-word is used to describe something as stupid or weird and sometimes it is used to describe someone with an IDD. It is time to remove the r-word from all speech.

“I encourage everyone who thinks that this is just a word to think about everyone it affects. We are all different and nobody should be labeled by such a belittling adjective. Even if you are not referring to a person with an intellectual or developmental disability, this word does not mean loser, dumb or boring. Everyone should pledge to remove this slur from their vocabulary,” said junior and Best Buddies officer Carly Grand.

Sponsor of Best Buddies and Special Education teacher Ms. Welgoss urges everyone to take the pledge to stop using the r-word.

“People tend to use the r-word so casually, but Best Buddies wants to put a stop to this. You never know who around you will be hurt by this. Best Buddies is trying to raise awareness about the use of the word and promote acceptance of all people. I have pledged to end the r-word, will you join us is spreading the word?” said Welgoss.

The beginning of a change starts with realizing what you are saying and how it affects people. The next time you hear the r-word in passing, will you be able to stand up for an entire group of people and ask that person to find another word? Using the r-word is just like using any other hurtful and degrading word, it is time to retire the r-word and spread the word to end the word.