#58 July/August 2002
The Washington Free Press Washington's Independent Journal of News, Ideas & Culture
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Fights Censorship, Gets Scholarship
Poulsbo student wins national award for civil-liberties activism
from Washington ACLU

Can We Afford So Many Americans?
by Dr. Norman Myers

AIDS, Hunger, Race, Income
Johannesburg conference deciding crucial issues
by Renee Kjartan

Was There Prior Knowledge of the 9/11 Attacks?
Media survey
by Rodger Herbst

Castro Replies to Bush Hysteria

Cloaks and Daggers
The "AFL-CIA" and the Venezuelan coup
By Jamie Newman and Charles Walker

Either Way, Transportation is Taxing
opinion by John C. Flavin

Exposures, Failures Hurt Frankenfood Industry
Despite complicity of the mainstream press
by Ronnie Cummins, Organic Consumers Association

Fifteen Days in Palestine
by Jacob A. Mundy

Illegal Rights
Earning $2 per hour for seven years
by Domenico Maceri

Profound Disconnection
US plan on global warming: learn to live with it
opinion by Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D.

AUSTRALIA WON'T RATIFY KYOTO

JAPAN RATIFIES KYOTO PROTOCOL

EUROPEAN UNION RATIFIES KYOTO PROTOCOL ON CLIMATE CHANGE

EVEREST GLACIER MELTING

Rising Sea Level Forces island Evacuation

No Compensation or Disability for Injured Boeing Worker
personal account by Brian F. Teitzel

MONORAIL GETTING CLOSER

God Bless the American Family Vehicle!
by Glenn Reed

Putting the Horse Before the Cart
BusHealth follows legal strategy to improve compensation for job-related ailments
by Jamie Newman

REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PACKAGE: MORE CARS AND HIGHWAYS, NOT ENOUGH PUBLIC TRANSIT

Seattle Schools Win Ad Slam Award
School board president receives $5000 prize
from Citizens' Campaign for Commercial-Free Schools

Canadian Starbucks UnStrike for Justice
from the Canadian Auto Workers

The US Role in the Venezuelan Coup
by Bill Vann

Seattle Schools Win Ad Slam Award

from Citizens' Campaign for Commercial-Free Schools

The Seattle School Board recently won the first National Ad Slam Contest sponsored by Commercial Alert, a national watchdog organization that aims to keep commercial culture within its proper sphere. The National Ad Slam Contest awards a $5,000 prize to the school or school district that made the best and most creative effort to kick advertising and commercialism out of school during the 2001-2 school year.

"I'm thrilled about the collaboration between the Seattle School District and the Citizens' Campaign for Commercial-Free Schools that resulted in a policy protecting our students from inappropriate commercial activity," says Nancy Waldman, Seattle School Board President. As head of last year's Policy committee, Waldman shepherded a new district-wide commercialism policy through to a successful 6-1 vote.

The new Seattle policy dramatically reduces commercialism in all 100 public schools by prohibiting many types of advertising and commercial activities targeted at children and phasing out the controversial commercial TV program, 'Channel One' by 2004-5.

"The Citizens' Campaign for Commercial Free Schools has done great work in expelling commercialism from the Seattle public schools," said Gary Ruskin, executive director of Commercial Alert. "The Seattle School Board won the National Ad Slam Contest because of the Citizens' Campaign's excellent advocacy and organizing."

The Citizens' Campaign for Commercial-Free Schools is a broad coalition of education, labor, health and community groups representing over 170,000 Washingtonians. Started by a handful of outraged parents, students and teachers in Seattle five years ago, the grassroots statewide organization now has individual supporters in 70 communities throughout Washington, including many elected officials and community leaders.

"The Seattle School Board deserves recognition for showing national leadership on this issue," says Dr. Brita Butler-Wall, co-founder and Executive Director of the Citizens' Campaign. "All Washington children need and deserve an education free from corporate influence, and this award from a national advocacy organization underscores the importance of developing thoughtful, strong policies to protect children from exploitation."

"Funding for public education should not fall to the hands of multi-million dollar corporations who benefit from access to our children," said state Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-36th). "Let's hope this success will inspire school districts throughout the state to implement similar policies, so that the integrity of learning will remain the top priority in all our schools."

The Citizens' Campaign for Commercial-Free Schools is a Seattle-based non-profit organization devoted to protecting Washington children and youth from commercialism in school. For more information about the campaign in Seattle and in other communities throughout the state of Washington, see their website at www.scn.org/cccs/.

Commercial Alert's mission is to keep the commercial culture within its proper sphere, and to prevent it from exploiting children and subverting the higher values of family, community, environmental integrity and democracy. For more information about advertising, marketing and commercialism in schools, see Commercial Alert's website is at www.commercialalert.org.


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