The Best Buddies club’s “Spread the Word to End the Word” poster was vandalized this weekend, when the word “retarded” and profane images were drawn across it.

Students sign the new poster. It was replaced after vandals drew inappropriate words and pictures on it over the weekend. Photo by Carolyn Freeman.

The incident took place while students from across the country were in school for a debate tournament, and the vandals were most likely not Whitman students, head of security Cherisse Millner said. The poster has now been replaced.

This month is nationally recognized as “Spread the Word to End the Word” month, to protest the inappropriate use of the word “retarded,” Best Buddies club president Molly Houston said.

The negative usage of the word has unfortunately become a part of our culture, but it’s extremely disrespectful and really hurts those with disabilities, Houston, a senior, said.

“The purpose is to really raise awareness about how much it does to people with mental and physical disabilities,” she said.

Principal Alan Goodwin fully supports Best Buddies’ cause, he said.

“I was excited to see the poster being endorsed by so many students, and I find it despicable that it was vandalized,” he said.