Special Olympics Club Brings Spread the Word to End the Word National Campaign to Campus

The Special Olympics Club is bringing the Spread the Word to End the Word campaign to campus this week. Spread the Word to End the Word is a national campaign to end the use of the R-word – “retard” – and replace it with the word “respect.”

SpOly club members will be outside the Anderson Student Center this week with games, lemonade and a petition sheet for St. Thomas community members to sign, pledging to end their use of the word “retard” and to spread the word to end the word.

The UST Special Olympics Club also will host a talk by Special Olympics athlete Abby Hirsch Thursday, April 26. Abby, the sister of SpOly Club vice president Andy Hirsch, will talk about the effect of the “R-word” and the importance of the campaign to end its use.

Open to the campus community, the event will be held at 7 p.m. in Room 304, Murray-Herrick Campus Center.