Ads Banned on South Carolina School Buses
 

WSAV.com

Sep 10, 2008

Senator Greg Ryberg from Aiken praised the South Carolina State Board of Education for taking action to protect children who ride school buses from unwanted and potentially harmful messages by banning advertising on school buses in South Carolina. Ryberg said that, “Today’s action by the Board reflects their commitment to the health and safety of our children. This action prevents for-profit companies from forcing children to hear or view advertising harmful to them or objectionable to their parents, and I join thousands of parents in thanking them.”

Senator Ryberg noted that the Board acted on behalf of parents who “do not ride the bus to school with their children, and could not prevent their children from being forced to view a cartoon character selling them donuts or a computer generated salesman pitching the latest version of a seek and kill game.”

Ryberg added that the Board also upheld their primary responsibility, that of ensuring a safe and secure learning environment for school children who already fall prey to approximately $15 billion worth of advertising each year. Ryberg noted that, “The business model for companies that market to children relies upon a simple premise: children cannot discern as readily as adults so they fall prey more easily to smooth pitches and sparkling visuals. This step by the Board at least protects kids on their own school bus.”

Senator Ryberg praised Board chairman Al Simpson for pursuing this ban. Senator Ryberg said that, “I commend Mr. Simpson for his leadership on this issue, and I applaud his perseverance in the face of well-funded opposition.”

This article is copyrighted material, the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner