Senate Committee hearings on Channel One

[Sonya Boyd <Janjulau@AOL.COM>]

Dear LM_NETTERS,
A serious situation has arisen that you may not be aware of, and if you work
in a Channel One school, have children who attend a Channel One school, or
have any interest in the services that Channel One provides to schools
throughout the United States, please read my posting to this listserv, and
respond to your United States Senator.

On Thursday,  May 20th the U.S. Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee
panel will convene to ask whether schools and school districts should be
allowed to use educational programming that is paid for by commercials. This
inquiry is a result of the efforts of Alabama Senator Richard Shelby and an
assortment of groups that span the political spectrum, i.e. Phyllis Schfley's
Eagle Forum to Ralph Nader's Commercial Alert. These groups appear to have
little in common, but they have become allies, united to remove Channel One
from U.S. schools. Bhind this is an Alabamian whose agenda has been to remove
Channel One from the schools in his home state. Not content with that, the
leaders of the movement have successfully pushed this notion to the very
heart of American government: the United States Congress! I am very concerned
that if the efforts of this group (they call themselves Obligation, Inc. and
they have a web site) are successful, we may lose a temendously valuable
resource, one that provides televisions, technical support, and programming,
one that we will not be able to replace.

I am saddened and angered that this coalition, which claims that Channel One
is a waste of taxpayers' money, in my opinion, is wasting just that by
pushing for the hearings. Why, when our national plate is so filled with
monumental problems, including our involvement in Kosovo and such tragedies
as the murders at Columbine High School,  lawmakers and others who wield
great political influence are wasting time, energy and, yes, money in this
misguided effort is beyond me. I think that Channel One is terrific! If you
agree, or if you think that decisions, such as whether or not schools should
have services like Channel One, should be made by parents and local
educational authorities, please e-mail, write, or call your Senator right
away. Thank you.

Sonya Boyd
Library Media Specialist           e-mail:  Janjulau@aol.com
Shaw High School
Columbus, Georgia

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