WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2011 | NEWS | THE DIAMONDBACK
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Watching what we say today
PROTESTS from page 1 as “Standing on the Side of Love” and “Gay Means Happy.” “Black, white, gay, straight, we’re together fighting hate!” they chanted in unison at the group of Westboro protesters, who were confined to the opposite side of Adelphi Road. Although several organizations — including Equality Maryland, the National Organization for Women and the Northwestern Parent Teacher Association — were present at the event, university students, many of whom live a stone’s throw from the high school, were noticeably absent. Several said they were not aware the event was taking place. Pride Alliance President Spencer Brennen said although information about the protest was available on the group’s Facebook page, many students he spoke to had time conflicts because it was held from 8 to 10 a.m. He said several also had trouble getting to the school, adding that if a university bus had shuttled students, more may have attended. But for the handful of students who did attend, the rally presented an opportunity to show Westboro members that this community thrives on diversity. Julia Ruth, a freshman physics major and University Park resident whose brother attends Northwestern, offered her support to the high school and the surrounding community. “It’s very disheartening to see a church group trying to spread hate,” she said. “It wasn’t just a protest against hate for me; it was the fact that they were coming to my home neighborhood. ... Why would these people want to come here? There are so many loving people here.” Yesterday morning, the Rev. Noreen Seiler Dubay of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Hyattsville stood across from the Westboro members and voiced her
Students work to end use of derogatory words BY ERIN EGAN Staff writer
Students and community members held a counterdemonstration yesterday against the Westboro Baptist Church in front of Northwestern High School in Hyattsville. CHARLIE DEBOYACE/THE DIAMONDBACK
own belief in the Christian faith and its tolerance. “I’m a pastor of a church, and I find it really abhorring that people who call themselves Christians would say the things and do the things they do,” she said. “I believe in a God that loves everybody. In the Episcopal Church, we respect the dignity of all human beings.” But on the other side of the street, the Westboro protesters demonstrated the opposite. “Put your filthy manner of life away; get over yourself,” said Jael Phelps, granddaughter of church founder Fred Phelps. “You’re not anything. You’re a creature. God’s the creator — you’ve got to obey him or you’re going to hell.” Although Capital News Service reported last week that the group chose to picket Northwestern because it described the school as “pervert-run,” Jael Phelps said they were simply targeting a school that promotes and accepts homosexuality, abortion and sex. “We’re here to inject some truth into this miry pit of lies,” she said. “All over the nation children have these signs. They’re indoctrinated with these terrible lies from the bowels of hell, instead of ‘Hey, there’s a God. He demands obedience.’” Phelps said the group traveled from Los Angeles yesterday before
stopping in this state to “spread the truth” to local students. “I’m their best friend,” she said. “Seriously, they deserve to hear some truth. If you see a bunch of people running head onto hell, you gotta say ‘stop.’ You don’t sit there silent, and you don’t enable them.” NOW Executive Vice President Bonnie Grabenhofer, of Silver Spring, stood by the message of acceptance. “I think what they do is despicable,” she said. “They spread hate. We came out to show that there’s a different message, that we embrace diversity.” Just before the start of the school day at 9:30 a.m., security officials asked students to return to class. Only a few dozen dispersed at the initial announcement, while several dozen more remained among other community members. Some high-school students said they felt the protest was worth missing class for. “I think it’s wrong that they’re protesting the right to be who you are,” said one Northwestern student who asked to remain anonymous because she was skipping class. “Being gay is not a choice, and if we’re living in America, which is supposedly the home of the free and the brave, well, let us be free.” marcot@umdbk.com
Students across the campus are working today to end the use of a common word they said has been transformed from a medical term into a hurtful slur: retarded. Created by the Special Olympics and Best Buddies International in 2008 — two nonprofit organizations dedicated to bridging the gap between people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and those without — the National Spread the Word to End the Word day has reached universities across the nation. In celebration of the national awareness day, the university’s chapter of Best Buddies will set up shop on Hornbake Plaza from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to educate students about why the word “retarded” is offensive to people with and without disabilities. “We will ask people to pledge not to use the r-word in inappropriate contexts by signing their name on a poster board we will have,” said Hayley Niad, membership coordinator of the university chapter of Best Buddies. “Our Buddy representative, Rick Kline, who has an intellectual disability and whose sister has an intellectual disability, will also be volunteering at the table to ex-
plain what the problem means to him.” Sophomore communication and English major Abby James participated in Best Buddies programs throughout high school and was often paired with disabled students. “Imagine what it’s like to have people use your condition as a joke,” she said. “Funny for them, maybe, but deeply painful for you.” Though now in college, James said she has maintained a close relationship with a former Best Buddy. “I’m still really good friends with one of my buddies, Chelsea, and she’s just one of my favorite people,” James said. “Passionate, smart, thoughtful, fun, with a better memory than anyone I’ve ever known. My friend deserves the same respect we all do.” The national movement to end the use of “retarded” began in 2008 after the DreamWorks film Tropic Thunder featured excessive use of the word. Demonstrators gathered across the nation to petition the movie’s satirical emphasis on the slur. “We’ve taken a word used to define a condition that people with disabilities are born with and made it into a word used to define anything we dislike,” senior economics major Aaron Hamilton said. “So when these individuals with these disabilities are con-
stantly hearing the word in a negative context, it is just outright offensive.” In spirit of the national movement, the university’s chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon, commonly known as SigEp, will be hosting a 5-kilometer run April 16 with Autism Speaks, a fundraising organization for global biomedical research into autism. “We as a Greek organization are not just trying to reach out to other fraternities, but we are trying to band everyone together,” SigEp philanthropy chairman Jordan Adler said. “We want to reach out to the campus as a whole.” The fraternity has raised more than $45,000 in the past two years, said Adler, a senior physiology and neurobiology major. Many students said they feel SigEp’s philanthropy project is a step in the right direction toward increasing oncampus awareness about the use of all derogatory words. “When you start hearing something like the r-word as a playground epithet, you might not get what the big deal is,” James said. “But it is a big deal. It matters. So that’s why we have to change not just the language, but the attitudes and stereotypes behind the language.” egan@umdbk.com
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