Gonzaga University: Ending the Word.

GU students, staff, and faculty took a giant leap towards inclusion and acceptance during the short week following Presidents day. Over three days between February 22nd and 25th (Classes were canceled Thursday due to weather), members of the Gonzaga community had the opportunity to sign a pledge discontinuing the use of the "R-word," otherwise known as the derogatory term retard(ed). Last year, 279 community members signed the same pledge; in 2011 that number increased by nearly 100 signatures! Call it luck, promotion, or a new freshman class, call it whatever you want, the reality of a more socially conscious Gonzaga University cannot be overlooked.  True, the Gonzaga community as a whole may still have a great journey towards the total elimination of this disparaging and offensive word, but the first steps were made during Developmental Disabilities Awareness Week 2011.

DDAW kicked off on Tuesday (2.22) with a free T-shirt campaign focused on raising awareness about the "R-word." The 250 students, faculty, and staff who received shirts were asked to wear them on the upcoming Friday to promote the signing of the pledge (pictured above: a group of dedicated and painfully cold t-shirt wearers). Wednesday night featured a live concert at the Crosby student center, sponsored by Gonzaga University Specialized Recreation (GUSR) and the "R-word" campaign. Attendees were asked to watch and reflect upon Soeren Palumbo's speech dedicated to the campaign (found here) after an introduction by GUSR coordinator Jessica Jacobson. Unfortunately a public showing of Autism: The Musical had to be postponed due to a school wide closure on Thursday, but this event will soon be rescheduled.

The "R-word" means different things to different people. Some users claim "I don't use it in that way," or "I would never say that word to a person with a disability," and that's fair, that's their perception. However, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail famously writes "Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere," and we at GUSR consider using the word "retard(ed)," in any context, as a threat to the millions of people living with disabilities, often unable to share the way in which the use of the word continues to marginalize a specific community.  We urge all members of Gonzaga University to consider those affected, those without the ability to speak for themselves, whenever we think to use the "R-word."

It's time to promote a new "R-word" here at Gonzaga: Respect.

Bryan Rinkus (Graduate Coordinator, GUSR)