“End the ‘R’ Word Day” is returning to campus for its second year to raise public awareness about the social prejudice faced by people with intellectual disabilities, now with celebrity endorsements and a national platform. “The point of the campaign is to educate the public, not to take away the rights of free speech,” said junior Soeren Palumbo, the campaign’s co-founder. “The word ‘retarded’ has a profound effect on people with intellectual disabilities and should be eliminated by social consensus, not by a legal means.”With Notre Dame’s service-oriented mentality, Palumbo said he hopes Notre Dame will be a leader in the campaign.“Notre Dame has an unprecedented service orientation toward people with disabilities, and people here want to make the world a better place for people with intellectual disabilities,” Palumbo said, “I want Notre Dame to be the jewel in the crown of this year’s events.”The official event began last year at the Special Olympics Winter Games when Palumbo and a Yale student came up with the idea to create an event to draw media attention and educate the public on the word “retarded” and its isolating effects on those with intellectual disabilities, Palumbo said.“We expected to get about a dozen schools involved in last year’s campaign and ended up [getting] 45 universities and even schools in other countries to participate,” Palumbo said. He said he anticipates even more involvement this year as service organizations such as Best Buddies International Inc. and Push America have joined the effort.The campaign has also garnered celebrity involvement with “Scrubs” actor John C. McGinley as the main spokesperson. Other celebrities involved with the campaign include Joe Jonas, Carl Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Alonzo Mourning. These celebrities have shown their support by creating public service announcements in which they recite the pledge and post the videos on YouTube or other media outlets. This year, Palumbo said he hopes the campaign will gain national media engagements or a possible op-ed in a major publication like The New York Times to raise attention for the campaign to “Spread the Word to End the Word.” The goal is for people to sign pledges similar to Notre Dame’s pledge: “As a member of the Notre Dame community, I pledge to end my pejorative use of the word ‘retarded.’”At Notre Dame, students can participate by signing one of the banners that will be located in both dining halls during lunch and dinner, as well as in LaFortune Student Center from late morning to mid-afternoon. There will also be T-shirts available for $5.“We want to bring the event to students and to make it simple for them so it’s not something they have to work to do,” Palumbo said. “It’s something they carry with them.“Society gets a brighter, more enriched future to see what people with intellectual disabilities can bring to the table. It’s a powerful, humbling, spiritual affirmation to be a part of that.”
Tag Archives: 夜上海论坛YE
North Sumatra to keep Nias Island open to visitors with negative COVID-19 test certificate
The North Sumatra administration has canceled its plan to suspend all air and sea travel to and from Nias Island to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the popular tourist destination.North Sumatra Governor Edy Rahmayadi said although access to air and sea transportation would remain open, entrance points would be closely guarded by integrated posts.In addition, the province will oblige people leaving for Nias to carry a COVID-19-free certificate and undergo self-isolation for two weeks after arriving on the island.“These posts will monitor people arriving by land, air or sea. Those who come to Nias have to show a negative COVID-19 swab test certificate to the postal officers, who will direct them for isolation,” Edy told reporters on Tuesday.Health workers and security officers would be exempt from this provision, he added.Edy said the provincial administration would distribute logistical assistance to visitors under self-isolation.Read also: North Sumatra to restrict access to Nias Island following surge in COVID-19 casesEdy announced the 14-day lockdown plan after a meeting with Coordinating Maritime and Investment Minister Luhut B. Pandjaitan on Monday. The coordinating minister, however, did not give permission immediately.Gunungsitoli Legislative Council (DPRD) chairman Yanto disagreed with the governor’s plan, arguing it was not the main solution in breaking the chain of COVID-19 transmission.“COVID-19 already exists on Nias Island, and it is spreading rather fast. What the provincial administration needs to do now is to multiply swab tests instead of isolating [the region],” Yanto said on Wednesday.Yanto claimed that hundreds of people were now waiting to get tested amid limited testing equipment. In such circumstances, he added, hospitals on Nias Island were forced to send swab samples to Medan city.The Nias COVID-19 task force said the island had zero confirmed cases last month, before being infected recently, with more than 90 people testing positive for the coronavirus so far. (syk)Topics :
Kobe-less Lakers can’t stop the Bucks
MILWAUKEE – As soon as he saw Kobe Bryant’s arm meet Marko Jaric’s head late in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s loss to Minnesota, Lakers coach Phil Jackson had a feeling Bryant would be getting another call from the league office. “In this league, everybody’s got a pretty face,” Jackson said, “and they’re trying to keep it that way.” Jackson said Bryant was trying to draw a foul on the play by flailing his arm. Bryant, who was not available for comment, lost more than $161,000 in pay from the suspension. For the second time this season, Stu Jackson, the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations, had to explain the decision to suspend Bryant. Jackson was specifically asked about the perception that the league was singling out Bryant. “My response to that,” Jackson said in a teleconference, “would be that I’ve not seen this type of contact exhibited by a player whereby the player takes a shot, follows through and then drives an arm backward into a defender’s body making contact above the shoulders. I have not.” Stu Jackson said he was “very surprised” to see a second, nearly identical, incident involving Bryant. He added that he considered suspending Bryant for multiple games and put Bryant on notice that a third offense would be dealt with more harshly. “In cases where we’ve had multiple offenses, at some point the player becomes a recidivist,” Jackson said, “and certainly, if this occurs again, most likely there would be multiple games.” The play in question happened with 58.7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of a double-overtime loss to Minnesota. Bryant pulled up for a jumper and Jaric got a hand on the ball to block the shot. Bryant then swung his right arm and connected with Jaric in the face. He was called for a loose ball foul on the play; Jaric stayed in the game and went on to make a key block of Kwame Brown with 8.4 seconds left in regulation. “I think I’m going to have to put about 50 clips (together) of Kobe shooting his shot with his arms going out like that,” Phil Jackson said. “It’s not an unnatural basketball motion for him.” Although Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak issued a statement saying in part, “We disagree with and are disappointed in the league’s decision,” Phil Jackson’s pregame comments were tinged with resignation instead of outrage. “We saw it happen and said, `That’s awful similar to what happened in L.A. versus San Antonio’ right off the bat,” Jackson said. He later credited the league for one thing, “If they’re going to make a call, even if they’re wrong, they’ll still be consistent.” Stu Jackson admitted that he didn’t talk to Bryant about the incident, leaving that task for an NBA security official. Asked if he had a problem with that, Phil Jackson said: “They never talk individually to people. They send their henchmen out to do their dirty work.” The coach said he tried to find the positive in the suspension for Bryant, who played 53 minutes in the double-overtime game. With a night of rest, Bryant might be better served for upcoming games against Philadelphia and Dallas. “It’ll come out at the other end somewhere, and that’s what he has to look at,” Jackson said. 160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set! What followed was a punchless 110-90 loss at Bradley Center in which the Lakers trailed from start to finish. The Bucks shot 59.5 percent as a team with Charlie Villanueva (26 points) and Andrew Bogut (22 points) each making 10 of 12 shots. The Lakers lost their fourth consecutive game, dropping to 0-3 on this road trip, and must win Friday at Philadelphia to avoid becoming the first Jackson-coached team ever to suffer two five-game losing streaks in the same season. Only 2 1/2 weeks ago, Bryant’s personal comeback was the story of the NBA’s all-star weekend. He was selected as the game’s MVP and judged the dunk contest alongside Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins and Julius Erving. Now Bryant is viewed as a repeat offender in the eyes of the league office. He was suspended from the Lakers’ Jan. 30 loss to NewYork for the play involving Ginobili and watched Wednesday’s game from the team hotel. 
Those fears were confirmed Wednesday when the NBA followed the precedent it set in suspending Bryant for one game at the end of January after he struck San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili in the head on a nearly identical play. The league suspended Bryant for Wednesday night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks, leaving the Lakers with only nine available players – six of them guards – after forward Ronny Turiaf was unable to play due to back spasms. 