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‘R’ word gets boot from BVMS
By By Jill Meier
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EmailMarch 22. 2011 9:21AM
There’s one word you won’t hear uttered at Brandon Valley Middle School any longer, at least not in a derogatory way.
On March 2, more than 90 percent of the student body at BVMS signed an online pledge to eliminate the word, “retarded” from their vocabulary. They joined forces with millions of others from across the globe in the “spread the word to end the word” campaign. South Dakota’s campaign, “Project Unify,” is a project of Special Olympics South Dakota.
BVMS Student Council advisor Darren Tipton said the student-led organization set a goal of 80 percent participation. With several more classes yet to go, Tipton was optimistic they’d more than surpass that goal.
“This is neat for the student council to do a public service project like this,” he said. “Hopefully, this is a positive lesson for them.”
Seventh grader Carley Poppenga is all too familiar with the hurtful name-calling her stepsister, Kaylie Pederson has had to endure from time to time.
“She’s my step-sister and really means a lot to me,” Poppenga said. “(This campaign) makes me happy, because I know people have been hurt because of it (the name-calling).”
Pederson is pictured alongside Ellie Stettnichs on a bookmark that was given to each BVMS student who signed the online pledge. Leading up to Wednesday’s signing, a large banner, a replica of the bookmark, had been hanging in the school commons.
Adriana Pardee has an uncle who suffers from seizures, which has prompted unkind words regarding his disability. Those words hurt, Pardee said, not only her uncle, but his family and friends as well.
“Me and my twin sister, whenever people say the ‘R’ word, it hurts us because of our uncle,” the seventh grader said.
Pardee, a BVMS student council rep, was excited the organization took on the “Spread the word to end the word” project. And she’s even more eager to explain the reason behind the endeavor.
“Sometimes when people see the big signs, they ask ‘why would we want to spread the word,’ so I tell them the real reason why it’s a good idea,” she said.
On March 2, more than 90 percent of the student body at BVMS signed an online pledge to eliminate the word, “retarded” from their vocabulary. They joined forces with millions of others from across the globe in the “spread the word to end the word” campaign. South Dakota’s campaign, “Project Unify,” is a project of Special Olympics South Dakota.
BVMS Student Council advisor Darren Tipton said the student-led organization set a goal of 80 percent participation. With several more classes yet to go, Tipton was optimistic they’d more than surpass that goal.
“This is neat for the student council to do a public service project like this,” he said. “Hopefully, this is a positive lesson for them.”
Seventh grader Carley Poppenga is all too familiar with the hurtful name-calling her stepsister, Kaylie Pederson has had to endure from time to time.
“She’s my step-sister and really means a lot to me,” Poppenga said. “(This campaign) makes me happy, because I know people have been hurt because of it (the name-calling).”
Pederson is pictured alongside Ellie Stettnichs on a bookmark that was given to each BVMS student who signed the online pledge. Leading up to Wednesday’s signing, a large banner, a replica of the bookmark, had been hanging in the school commons.
Adriana Pardee has an uncle who suffers from seizures, which has prompted unkind words regarding his disability. Those words hurt, Pardee said, not only her uncle, but his family and friends as well.
“Me and my twin sister, whenever people say the ‘R’ word, it hurts us because of our uncle,” the seventh grader said.
Pardee, a BVMS student council rep, was excited the organization took on the “Spread the word to end the word” project. And she’s even more eager to explain the reason behind the endeavor.
“Sometimes when people see the big signs, they ask ‘why would we want to spread the word,’ so I tell them the real reason why it’s a good idea,” she said.
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Abby Hansen pledges online to eliminate the slang term "retarded" from her vocabulary. On March 2, more than 90 percent of the student body at Brandon Valley Middle School pledged to "Spread the word to end the word." The word "retarded" is hurtful and insulting to millions of people with intellectual disabilities. Photo by Jill Meier |  |
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