Chapman University Tuesday joined a youth-based campaign by the Special Olympics to encourage people to pledge to stop using the word "retard" in everyday speech.
Students at Chapman University in Orange spent Tuesday conducting an informational campaign on campus on behalf of a nationwide effort entitled "Spread the Word to End the Word," according to Kim Pine, assistant vice president of communications and marketing for Special Olympics Southern California.
"Most people don't think of this word as the language of hate, but that's exactly what it feels like to millions of people with intellectual disabilities, their families and friends," said actor John C. McGinley, who, as ambassador of the National Down Syndrome Society, has made several media appearances on behalf of "Spread the Word to End the Word."
Organizers have set a goal of getting 100,000 pledges on the effort's Web site, www.r-word.org, to support elimination of "the R-word" and promote the acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities. More than 20,000 pledges have already been made.
Special Olympics began the effort to end use of the demeaning word retard in August in connection with the premiere of the movie "Tropic Thunder," which repeatedly used the term.
