Three Simon Fraser University students are leading a campaign to stop people from using the term "retarded" in a derogatory way.
"It's really hurtful to a lot of individuals, even if it's not meant to be directed to someone who has a developmental disability," said SFU business student Helen Shi. "They could know friends or family members who have Down syndrome or any other disability."
Shi and two others put up posters at the Burnaby campus, discouraging people from using the word. They also convinced about 60 to 70 people to sign a pledge not to use it.
"We think it worked," Shi said. "We got quite a few people to sign it, and we were pretty successful, and we raised awareness about the issue."
Shi said they encountered many people who admitted to using the R-word regularly, but now that they know the hurtful connotation it can have, they'll think twice before using it.
The students' efforts were part of an annual charity awareness campaign led by SFU's student marketing association. This year's benefactor was Burnaby's Down Syndrome Research Foundation, a non-profit that runs programs for people with developmental disabilities.
Executive director Dawn McKenna said "retarded" is a medical term that has almost become slang for saying someone is slow. When people say "that's so retarded," they are referring to a group of people with cognitive deficits.
"It's just hurtful when people who have cognitive deficits hear the word. Their feelings are hurt. They are quite aware of what the word means, whether it's directed at them or used in a sentence. Many of them have been bullied in their lives and been called those names," she said.
McKenna hopes more awareness on what the term means will change people's choice of words.
"There's a whole dictionary of words that can be used. Why not broaden your vocabulary?"
For more on the Down Syndrome Research Foundation, go to www.dsrf.org.
www.twitter.com/JenniferMoreau
