It’s just Monday and we have already been so busy! Earlier today, Public Citizen’s Commercial Alert program issued targeted warnings to a number of different school districts and school boards, including the State of Hawaii School Board, 
that are currently considering in-school advertising proposals to raise revenues.
“Children already are surrounded by near-constant advertising that promotes consumerism and commercial values,” said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen. “But the ubiquity of advertising is not a reason for allowing corporate naming rights and in-school advertising to persist; it is a reason why children need a sanctuary from a world where everything seems to be for sale.”
Elizabeth Ben-Ishai, campaign coordinator for Public Citizen’s Commercial Alert project, which you can follow on Twitter @CommercialAlert, added:
In-school advertising and marketing schemes convey market rather than civic values and impede the ability of schools to function as open spaces where ideas are freely exchanged and the next generation of public-minded, conscientious and virtuous students can grow.
Meanwhile, Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines director Peter Maybarduk is gearing up to speak about patent rules tomorrow at the Georgetown University School of Law. Lady Liberty hopes you’ll make note that the folks at Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines program are now on Twitter! Please follow them at @PCMedsAccess to catch their take on today, the 10th anniversary of the Doha Declaration.
