Members of SUNY Cortland's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) supported the Special Olympics in its "Spread the Word to End the Word" campaign with a banner-signing pledge event on Wednesday, March 2. That date was a national day of awareness in which the Special Olympics asked people to pledge to stop saying the "R-Word" and help create more accepting attitudes and communities for everyone.

Red Dragon student-athletes set up a table throughout the day in Cortland's Student Life Center to encourage campus community members to sign a banner in a pledge to stop using the offensive words "retard" or "retarded" and instead use respectful, people-first language.

Visit the Special Olympics' Spread the Word to End the Word Web Site at www.r-word.org for more information on this event.