 Students sign the pledge in McEwen Hall to end the "R" word as a derogatory label. |
On March 2, the Fredonia Resident Assistant Advisory Board (RAAB) and co-chairs Jenn Cinque, residence director, and Jenny Braunscheidel, a sophomore resident assistant, chose to “Stand Up For a Cause.”
The event invited students across campus to pledge their dedication to ending the inappropriate use of the r-word ("retard" or "retarded") as a label in slang.
Residents Assistants and staff stood in McEwen Hall to ask for participation and to spread awareness by handing out stickers as students walked by.
Between the hours of 9 a.m. through 6 p.m., the group exceeded their goal of 500 participants. The posters of signatures and commitments are advertised in McEwen Hall.
“Spread the Word to End the Word” began in 2004 when the Special Olympics committee made a commitment to changing the movement’s terminology from mental retardation to intellectual disabilities. The first annual event to make a pledge to "end the word" began in 2009, and has been adopted by several communities since then.
