Emmariah Wyss’s most recent campaign, held at the beginning of March, had the greatest number of students sign the ‘Spread the Word’ banner to encourage people not to use what is referred to as the ‘R-word’.
The older sister of a boy with special needs, Wyss began a campaign at her school to urge others to rethink how they use the word "retarded", and to encourage an end to the use of the word as casual slang.
Wyss first began her project three years ago when she heard someone say the ‘R-word’ at school, when she was still in elementary school. She did not know what it meant at the time, and explained to CBS New York:
"I heard people using the ‘R-word’ and it is just that he [her brother] really is retarded. And it’s not fair that they talk about like he’s not equal to them, because everyone is equal."
After talking to her mom about the word and doing some online research, Wyss learned about a campaign called ‘Spread the Word to End the R-Word’. The goal of the campaign is to get people to pledge not to use the word anymore.Get a Free Quote for Banners