Local Highlights: Actions Against Classroom Advertising
Burlingame, CA: Mills High School stu dent Rebecca Rosenfelt organized an event to build student awareness about soda and com mercialism on her school’s “Pepsi Day,”

Tenino, WA: Though the school district signed an exclusive rights deal, vocal parent Milka Hyder didn’t give up. She successfully convinced the board to examine Channel One, which they have now unplugged!

Pennridge, PA: Connie Seager, ex-school board member, first fought off a cola contract then helped her district adopt commercialism policies!

Takoma Park, MD: Concerned parent Mike Tabor organized a community meeting to discuss soda deals and commercialism in the area’s schools.

Poughkeepsie, NY: The group Organizing for Public Education Now (OPEN) not only killed a soda deal last spring but also held a community meeting featuring Vassar Professor William Hoynes. OPEN continues to inform and activate their local communities.

NewYork, NY: School board member Irving Hamer is pushing his plan to lease every student a laptop computer – and subsi dizing cost by making the district’s web-site revenue-generating and commercial. The Center helped activate the NY Coalition for Commercial-Free Schools which has met with some district staff and, through hard work, convinced the Board to adopt some form of commercialism policy and educational plan. But the Board continues to advance the notion of commercializing the district . State Senator Montgomery and Assemblyperson Vann have also become vocally opposed to this ill-intentioned ads-for-laptops project.

Eugene, OR: The local Alliance for Democracy has forced the district to rescind its soda contract and adopt some kind of com mercialism policies before revisiting the deal.

NewYork, NY: A group of academics, experts and professionals (including the Center) came together to protest the Golden Marbles Awards, a ceremony which congratu lates the “best” advertising to children.

Toledo, OH: Bill Garber helped the Ohio Dental Society pass a resolution decrying soda deals and held a press conference in September with Michael Jacobson from the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Center’s own Dylan Bernstein.

Hallsville, TX: Mike Stanfield convinced the district to unplug Channel One!

North Reading, MA: School board mem ber Maureen Vacca helped her board kindly reject Channel One’s “invitation” to sign up.

Southfield, MI: Community member Martha Ritchie explained that the district has more to lose than to gain with Coke or Pepsi. The board dropped its inquiry into an exclu sive contract.

Washington DC: The Government Accounting Office (GAO) released a report on commercialism in schools, noting that most districts are vulnerable to the growing prob lem because of their lack of comprehensive policies.

Oakland, CA: The Oakland Arts Magnet school was courted by Zap Me! Teacher Mary Hurley instead found a way to receive a non commercial technology donation that is far more advantageous to the students.

Hernando County, FL: School Watch Team member Larry Scott successfully defeat ed a proposition to rent each student a laptop computer with built-in advertising.

Minneapolis, MN: School Watch Team member Simone French has met with the school board President and helped convince the Board to table the proposed soda contract and first focus on commercialism policies.

Chimacum,WA: Though parents quickly raised enough money to match a promotional offer from Pepsi, the school board declined to accept. Continued pressure has now led to a policy committee which has recommended strong, specific policies for the district.

Seattle, WA: After the school board signed a very controversial Coke deal amidst public outcry, a majority of its members pledged to investigate removing Channel One. Local citizens and the teachers’ union are now reminding the members of this duty and the board has agreed to discuss Channel One’s removal.

Central Bucks, PA: The district originally voted in a Coke contract, but soon voted to rescind the deal because of local parents’ con cerns. The local parents group, Parents for Excellence in Education, is now working with the board to adopt policies limiting commer cial influence in schools.

Carlsbad, CA: Parent Kelly O’Neil was upset to discover that the district had rescind ed its commercialism policy and put a much weaker policy in place. She is working with the Superintendent to strengthen the policy.

Ithaca, NY: Youth Advisory Board member Jenna Hallas has organized with other students to make the school remove hallway advertising.

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