On Oct.18, Alpha Sigma Alpha teamed up with the R-Word’s “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign to help stop the used of the R-word.

“I feel that the ladies of Alpha Sigma Alpha all understand the importance of Spread the Word to End the Word,” Ashley Anne Paredes, freshman Music Business major and ASA president, said. “It is something simple that everyone can do.”

The R-word alluded to is the ‘retarded’. The word has become a part of everyday speech, whether it is used as an insult or even in a joking manner.“The R-word is as much of a derogatory term as any other. I am hoping the campaign made an impact,“ Morgan Grazier, General Business major and ASA member, said.

As a part of the campaign, Alpha Sigma Alpha took pledges from students who promised to eliminate the R-word from their everyday speech. They pledged on the R-Word campaign’s website and signed a poster.

“I think it’s encouraging to see WT get involved in extensively-reaching campaigns like this,” Dani Morton, a senior Broadcasting major, said. “ A lot of people don’t know the weight that words can carry, and I think making everyone aware is a crucial step in enforcing equality across the board.”

Junior Sports and Exercise Science major Emily LeGrande worked with a student who had Downs Syndrome back in high school.

“Every time someone would say the R-word I would feel very uneasy,” said LeGrande. “I hope everyone who took the pledge takes it seriously and takes to heart the message of stopping the R-word.