BLACKSBURG, Va. — A 2015 Charlotte Catholic High School graduate is the first candidate to be sponsored by Virginia Tech’s Newman Community Campus Ministry in the college’s annual Homecoming Queen competition.
Ali Buck selected a Respect Life platform, partnering with the Special Olympics in its “Spread the Word to End the Word” initiative during the week-long Homecoming campaign Oct. 29-Nov. 4.
Pictured: Charlotte Catholic High School graduate Ali Buck (center) promoted her 2018 Homecoming Queen platform “Spread the Word to End the Word” during a week-long campaign at Virginia Tech University.
Buck, who volunteered with Camp SOAR in Charlotte for two summers, chose this initiative to start a conversation on the use of the word “retarded” when referring to people with special needs, in the hope of ending use of this derogatory term.
“My campaign focused on starting the conversation on campus with friends, family members and even strangers to stop using the word ‘retarded’,” Buck explained. “The goal of my efforts was to show students that using the r-word hurts, and it personally affects people that you encounter every day.”
Throughout the week of campaigning, Buck asked students to sign a banner to stop using the word.
“It was super exciting because I originally bought one banner that I planned to use the whole week, but we filled it with signatures in one day. We ended up needing to get a second banner on Wednesday, which we filled by Friday,” she said.
Buck was introduced to “Spread the Word to End the Word” at a middle school youth group event at her parish, St. Matthew Church in Charlotte.
“We had a representative from the organization come and speak to us about why we should not use the word and asked us to sign the pledge. That event and my signature stuck with me from then on.
“It became something that I was passionate about, and I was so excited to bring the campaign to a campus as large as Virginia Tech,” she said.
Buck and her team also gave out red awareness ribbons to students when they signed the banner.
“I hope that with people wearing the ribbons on their backpacks, it will be an easy way to start the conversation with other people,” she added.
Buck was not crowned Virginia Tech’s Homecoming Queen, but she believes that she and her Newman Center team were successful in starting a real conversation on campus.
“Throughout the week we talked to hundreds of people and our message was spread throughout campus. I spoke to so many students who were able to open up to me that they had a sibling with special needs. It was an amazing experience,” she said.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior Reporter
Buck made two banners to support all the signatures by students and others who pledged to join her efforts to treat people who have special needs with dignity. (Photos provided by Ali Buck)