1:43 p.m., April 7, 2009----A coalition of disability awareness organizations have come together to request individuals at the University of Delaware and the larger community eliminate the derogatory and out-dated word “retarded,” and all forms of it, from their vocabularies.

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University students were asked to take the pledge by signing their names to a banner at a gathering Tuesday, April 7, at the Trabant University Center.

Nearly 1,000 UD students signed the banner, according to Jon Buzby, director of media relations for Special Olympics Delaware.

Rachel Simon, author of Riding the Bus with my Sister, attended the event to talk about her experience growing up with a sister who has an intellectual disability. She, too, signed the banner and also stressed to students the importance of not using the “R-word.”

"Growing up with a sister who has a disability, it's like a knife in the back every time someone uses that word," Simon said after signing the banner. "People have no idea how painful it is as a family member to hear others toss that word off without thought. I've dropped friends because they wouldn't stop using the word."

Also participating in the event were 50-plus elementary-aged students from The College School at the University of Delaware, who handed out information cards encouraging people to sign the banner and to take the pledge.

The national event was held March 31 but because the University was on spring break, here it was shifted to April 7.

"Having this take place a week after the actual campaign is actually a nice reminder to all of us that it's not just a one-time ask," said Ann Grunert, executive director of Special Olympics Delaware. "The outpouring of students not only last week in the high schools, but today here on the UD campus, gives us all hope that someday this campaign won't be necessary."

The coalition supporting the event included Special Olympics Delaware, the UD Center for Disabilities Studies, the Arc of Delaware, Best Buddies Delaware, DFRC (the Delaware Foundation Reaching Citizens with intellectual disabilities), the Down Syndrome Association of Delaware, and United Cerebral Palsy of Delaware.

For more information, see the Special Olympics Delaware Web site.