Citizens' Campaign for Commercial-Free Schools

This is a web version of our latest newsletter. If you would like to get on our mailing list (for a paper, regular mail version) send a message to cccs@scn.org

Citizens' Campaign for
Commercial-Free Schools

Vol. 3, No. 1 April 2000 Editor: Brita Butler-Wall

Our Mission: to protect children and youth from commercial influences at school

President's Welcome

by Dave Wall

You may not have heard from us in a while, but the CCCS group hasn't gone away. Commercial attacks on children in Seattle schools haven't gone away, either. The pressure is increasing.

Channel One is still pounding ads five days a week in 14 Seattle schools. Coke machines have inundated our school hallways. Advertising posters have penetrated the elementary schools, and commercially biased curricular materials are increasing ---including the pro-WTO curriculum found in Seattle Schools last fall.

This newsletter offers ways you can help reclaim our schools. I'd especially like to invite you to join us in setting goals at our next meeting on May 18. Let's work together to improve the lives of our children.

 

CCCS CONTACTS SENATORS

On March 29, CCCS voted to support the national effort to prohibit federal funding of Channel One, by ending its advertising for the military (see story, p. 2).

CCCS has sent letters to Washington Senators Slade Gorton and Patty Murray, both on the Appropriations Committee.

NADER SPEAKS OUT AGAINST ADS IN SEATTLE SCHOOLS

On April 1, Presidential candidate Ralph Nader spoke to a packed hall of over 500 at the University of Washington. He lambasted the recent exclusive Coke contract in the Seattle public schools and decried Channel One as part of the corporatization of education.

CCCS members distributed fliers about Channel One to the audience.

UW STUDENTS PROTEST CAMPUS ADS

On March 8, students from the Direct Action Coalition (DAC) at the University of Washington collected commercial advertising posted all over their campus and plastered the walls of the Administration Building.

Administration officials then agreed to enforce the existing UW policy against unauthorized commercial ads on campus.

For more info, contact the DAC at kiosk@outlawmail.com.

 

CCCS' NEXT MEETING

CCCS is meeting on Thursday, May 18, 2000 to do goal-setting and strategy planning, led by Julia Fitzsimmons. 7034 Ravenna Ave. NE, 7 pm. Call 206.523.4922 for directions. Everyone welcome!

 

ALERT! THIS JUST IN

Seattle School administrators are planning joint advertising between the School district and private companies (Mariners, AirTouch). Call SB President Barb Schaad-Lamphere at 206.933.5327 to protest.

CCCS VEEP SPEAKS TO SCHOOL BOARD

On May 3, CCCS Vice President Matt King spoke before an enthusiastic audience of 150 at the Seattle School Board meeting,, urging the Board to review Channel One ASAP.

SEATTLE PRINCIPALS, PTA PRESIDENTS OPPOSE CHANNEL ONE

The following oppose Channel One:

Principals Ellen Punyon (Wing Luke Elem.), Lynn Caldwell (Eckstein Middle), Margie Kates (Beacon Hill Elem.), Marcia Boyd (Rogers Elem.), Ron Snyder (AS#1 Elem.), Elaine Packard (NOVA High)

PTSA Presidents Leanne Hawkins (Rogers Elem.), Mary Smith (Eckstein Middle), Maureen O'Brien O'Neill (Aki Kurose Sharples MiddleSchool).

Congratulations to these people for speaking out.

Thanks to Chris Jackins, Seattle Committee to Save Schools, for gathering this information.

 

Citizens' Campaign for Commercial-Free Schools

3724 Burke Ave. N Seattle WA 98103

Tel.: 206.726.4142 Email: btlrwall@drizzlecom URL: http://www.scn.org/edu/cccs

 

 

 

WHAT'S HAPPENING NATIONALLY

DID YOU KNOW?

Your tax dollars support Channel One. According to Commercial Alert, Channel One gets approximately 1/6 of its annual budget, $12 million, from federal funds. Ad revenues include:

• Air Force: $1 million

• Marines: over $1 million

• Navy: $511,000

• Office of National Drug Control Policy: $8.8 million

 

The Center for Commercial-Free Public Education

--by Diane Morrison, CCCS Treasurer and CFCFPE Board Member

PUBLIC AWARENESS

The national Center for Commercial-Free Public Education in Oakland, CA has seen a huge increase in the number of requests for information and assistance from all over the country during the latter half of 1999.

RECENT VICTORIES

Madison WI dropped its cola contract after 3 years. ZapMe was ousted in Indiana and Oakland CA. Philadelphia PA rejected a $44 million cola contact.

NEW INITIATIVES

The Center has established a Youth Advisory Board, a network of regional volunteer coordinators, School Watch teams, and is disseminating its Classroom Integrity Pledge for teachers.

LEGISLATION

California just passed a bill banning ads in textbooks and another limiting ads in electronic media and exclusive cola contracts. New York passed a law against ads on school busses.

WHAT'S AHEAD

Channel One has a ZapMe clone coming out, and is also trying to position itself to deliver media literacy. Other new gimmicks in the schools include company sponsored student ID cards, ID cards that double as purchasing cards, and district-wide deals with non-cola companies (e.g. office supply stores).

For more information, call the Center at 1.800.867.5841 or email unplug@igc.org

***

"[Advertising] is a vast industry with license to use all available symbols to further the interests of commerce, by devouring the psyches of consumers."

--Neil Postman, (1992). Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology.

***

NATIONAL COALITION

A broad coalition of progressive and conservative organizations and scholars has been fighting Channel One, spearheaded by a Washington DC-based advocacy group, Commercial Alert.

Under the leadership of Gary Ruskin, the Coalition this week asked President Clinton to back out of his May 4 interview on Channel One. They argued that Channel One endorses violence through its ads for violent movies and TV shows aimed at kids.

The Coalition recently asked Members of Congress, governors and others to protect children from Channel One. The coalition aims to cut off advertising revenue for Channel One and to remove it from the nation's public schools.

The coalition has sent letters to:

• Members of the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations committees, asking them to eliminate all federal funding for Channel One;

• Governors, asking them to take all steps within their powers to remove Channel One from their state's public schools;

• Members of the House Education Committee, asking them to hold hearings on Channel One;

• Channel One's partners, asking them to sever their relationship with Channel One.

 

ON THE WEB...

Center for Commercial-Free Public Education (CFCFPE)

www.commercialfree.org

Center for the Analysis of Commercialism in Education (CACE)

 

Citizens' Campaign for Commercial-Free Schools (CCCS)

http://www.scn.org/edu/cccs

Commercial Alert

www.essential.org/alert/channel_one/index.html

 

 

CCCS NUTS AND BOLTS

ABOUT US

The Citizens' Campaign for Commercial-Free Schools is a non-profit organization registered in the state of Washington. It is a grassroots organization formed in 1996 with over 150 members: parents, teachers, students, researchers, and other citizens. For info and links, see our website http://www.scn.org/edu/cccs.

NEW LEADERSHIP

Elected at the March 29 meeting were:

President: Dave Wall 523.4922, 543.8491 btlrwall@drizzle.com

Vice President: Matt King 522.5430 MattandTricia@peoplepc.com

Treasurer: Diane Morrison 632.1349 dmm@u.washington.edu

Newsletter: Brita Butler-Wall 523.4922 bbwall@seattleu.edu

Phone Tree: Karen Farnsworth 935.5313 farnsworth@quidnuce.net

Web Master: Joel Bradbury 632.1349

 

EMAIL LIST

The CCCS discussion list is being updated. To join, send e-mail to Dave Wall (btlrwall@drizzle.com). Thanks to Joel Bradbury, Greg Katz, and Dave Wall for setting this up.

DATA BASE

Dave Jette of the Progressive Coalition has volunteered to restructure the CCCS data base to make it more user-friendly. We also need a volunteer to input names and addresses sometime in May, after he gets it set up (3-5 hours). Call 523.4922 if you can help.

FUNDING

CCCS is a grassroots,non-profit organization which relies on donations to meet mailing expenses. We need your help! Send a donation today to CCCS, 3724 Burke Ave. N, Seattle WA 98103.

Note that CCCS has not filed for 503 (c) 3 status because we do both educational and political work. Thus, your donation is NOT tax-deductible.

 

 

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

If you can help, call Dave Wall at 206.523.4922:

___ do research ___ tabling at events

___ join speakers' bureau ___ maintain data base

___ make phone calls ___ write letters

 

SPEAKERS' BUREAU

Experienced, lively presenters from CCCS are available to make presentations to community groups, senior citizens, school groups, etc. Let us speak to your group for 10 min. or an hour on topics including: Commercialism in Schools, Channel One, School Fundraising. Fee for cost of materials only.

To schedule, call Brita Butler-Wall 206.523.4922.

 

SCHOOL BOARD RACE

CCCS past president Dwight Van Winkle ran for Seattle School Board in 1999, successfully getting the commercialism issue into the campaign and into the media.

CCCS is looking for people to run in next year's election. Seattle School Board elections run by district in the primary and then are all-city in the general election. Leslie Wall and Brita Butler-Wall are getting training in running political campaigns, through the Progressive Leadership Institute.

News from our Allies

PSYCHOLOGISTS AGAINST ADS

Local psychologists Allen D. Kanner and Tim Kasser have joined 60 mental health professionals in urging the American Psychological Association to "denounce the use of psychological techniques to assist corporate marketing and advertising to children" and launch a campaign to educate the public "about the ongoing abuse of psychological knowledge by the child advertising industry." --Washington Psychologist, April 2000

CCCS Newsletter is published quarterly by the

Ravenna Beach Press

7034 Ravenna Ave NE Seattle WA 98115 bbwall@seattleu.edu

Deadline for next newsletter:

July 20, 2000

 

 

MAKE SEATTLE SCHOOLS COMMERCIAL-FREE!

URGENT ACTION!

CALL SEATTLE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS

On Feb. 29, President Barb Schaad-Lamphere wrote that it was time to review the issue of Channel One, and asked the Policy and Legislative (PAL) committee to review it.

According to Schaad-Lamphere, PAL is "in a fact-finding stage right now, to better understand important data such as how many schools currently have Channel One, how many classrooms use the service, what teachers, students and principals feel about it, what equipment is involved, and what would be the replacement cost of the equipment should we give it up."

Contact these PAL members today and urge them to adopt a policy prohibiting Channel One in Seattle Schools (Both Directors Preston and Waldman have expressed concerns about Channel One).

Don Nielsen, Chair 206.292.1193

dnielsen@seattleschools.org

Michael Preston 206.298.7040

mpreston@seattleschools.org

Nancy Waldman 206.729.3340

nwaldman@seattleschools.org

URGENT ACTION!

WRITE/EMAIL THE SEATTLE TIMES

On April 14, the Times printed an op-ed piece by Paul Folkemer, V.P. of Channel One, which is full of misinformation:

• He challenges critics to view Channel One, yet two CCCS members ordered videos from Channel One months ago and have received nothing.

• He says that students can opt out of watching, yet there is no such policy in Seattle schools . Most parents have no idea the program exists, much less is required daily viewing.

• He claims that teachers can opt not to use the program; this is expressly prohibited by contract, and Seattle teachers are told that they must show the program daily.

• He touts the Channel One's renewal rate, but does not say that the contract rolls over into a new 3-year cycle unless a principal actively rejects it.

The Seattle Times
PO Box 70, Seattle WA 98111

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Citizens' Campaign for Commercial-Free Schools

3724 Burke Ave. N.

Seattle WA 98103