Alliance makes push to buy nothing

The newly formed Seattle Alliance for Media Education is encouraging UW students to participate in Buy Nothing Day on the day after Thanksgiving.

Buy Nothing Day is a 24-hour consumer fast scheduled for the day after Thanksgiving, typically the busiest shopping day of the year. The alliance feels this is an important way to advocate critical consumption of media messages encouraging people to shop on this day.

The alliance, which meets on the UW campus, is concerned with educating teenagers in how to interpret media messages critically and responsibly. The group has taken on a rallying cry of "media literacy now."

The National Telemedia Council defines media literacy as the ability to choose, understand, evaluate, create and respond thoughtfully to the media we consume. Media-literacy activists seek to promote mindful consumption of and reflective judgment on the media they consume.

The alliance and other groups feel that media education should be a larger part of K-12 curriculum.

"It is no longer enough simply to read and write. Students must also become literate in understanding of visual images," said Ernest Boyer, former U.S. commissioner of education. "Our children must learn how to spot a stereotype, isolate a social cliche, and distinguish facts from propaganda, analysis from banter and important news from coverage."

The new organization promotes media literacy through critical interaction with and responsible production of media. This is accomplished through education and practice.

The group encourages all UW students to do something on this day rather than spend time and money at the malls. Instead, it suggests spending time with family and friends.

There are several programs that Seattleites can participate in for Buy Nothing Day, including events in support of the Seattle dockworkers and a community dinner serving Thanksgiving leftovers.

This is not the only program or issue that concerns the alliance. It also hopes to be able to coordinate speakers and programs for high schools and junior highs focusing on media education and bringing a new perspective to the field.

"Although there are many media-education groups across the nation, the Seattle Alliance for Media Education is the first group of its kind consisting entirely of young people," said Marilyn Cohen, director of the Teen Futures Media Network, an umbrella organization to the newly formed group.

According to the 2000 U.S. census, there are 31.6 million 12- to 19-year-olds in the United States, making it the largest generation ever.

This generation is not only the largest generation ever, it is also the most media-saturated generation ever. According the Kaiser Family Foundation, "65 percent of U.S. teens have TV sets in their own rooms."

For more information concerning Buy Nothing Day, visit www.

buynothingdosomething.org.