Best Buddies will be handing out stickers and wristbands at lunches this week to end the use of the word retarded. The campaign, Spread The Word to End the Word, aims to discourage the use of the word retarded, replacing it with the word respect.

“The Best Buddies club has made posters to hang around the school, and our members will be at lunches handing out bracelets,” Best Buddies president Rylee McHenry said. “We want to encourage people to pledge to stop using the r-word.”

In 1895, “retarded” was coined as a medical term to indicate someone is mentally disabled. In 2013, the word was rejected and is now often used as degrading slang, meaning stupid or useless.

“This campaign is important because the r-word can be hurtful for people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities,” McHenry said. “It can degrade people and make them feel less important than they really are.”

The club hopes to bring awareness to the word and uplift students through a video focusing on positive words to use instead of retarded.

“We’re trying to make a more positive experience for all students within the school,” teacher Caryn Teeling said. “The video is supposed to promote awareness of the words that people use daily and encourage everyone to celebrate positive things about themselves.”

The campaign is about more than just students as some parents are just as invested.

“I’m hoping the campaign helps the student body to see that all individuals have special talents,” parent Melanie Amundson said. “It’s important to recognize this regardless of if they have a special need or not.”