word choices

Re-evaluating our word choices is important in establishing accessible spaces

By: Marco Ovies, Features Editor Content warning: mention of ableist slurs and aggression  When I was in elementary school, the “r-word” was just beginning to be recognized by the general public as a slur. While originally introduced as a medical term in 1961 for people with intellectual disabilities, the word gained a negative connotation over the decades. It was not until 2010 that we saw President Obama change that word in federal law to “intellectual disability.” According to the Special Olympics, “when social media users are posting about people with intellectual disabilities, 7 in every 10 of those posts are…

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