Despite what the random passerby may believe, Grady is not a break in between television programs. Grady is not a billboard, a pop-up on your computer or the beginning of a YouTube video. But the new additions to our stadium can’t beg to differ.
Our first warning was the Metro PCS ads. They appeared unexpectedly, invoking pointed fingers and the shaking of heads. But we figured that was it; soon some kind soul would tear the posters down and everything could go back to business as usual. Then the ads for discount bikini waxes appeared on the gates on 10th Street. Though oh-so-appealing, we hoped this was the end of the matter.
This summer, however, we were proven sorely wrong. Every drive past Eddie S. Henderson stadium made us shudder as the advertisements, particularly those of the omnipotent Superior Plumbing, began to cover our stadium. They climbed the beige walls, leapt up the stairwells and made themselves at home.
The signs became particularly evident during the first fire drill of the year. With the entire student body crowded into the football stadium, the obnoxious blue and yellow logo stood out even more than everyone’s obvious annoyance with the fire drill, a feat almost impossible to accomplish.
We understand APS’s need to acquire a little extra funding we all have experienced the pitiful state of our toilet paper-less bathrooms. The quest for financial backing, however, should not force us to lose our school’s integrity. There are other methods we can use to fundraise instead. For example, we should use the money Starbucks spent on purchasing and installing the still-unused TVs in the cafeteria to buy something that actually functions; maybe locks on bathroom stalls?
If blatant advertising becomes the norm, what will the administration agree to next? Plastering the Exxon Mobil emblem on the In- finite Campus homepage? Insituting Abercrombie and Fitch school uniforms? Renaming the Charles Allen building the Starbucks Wing?
Once we cross a certain line, Grady will no longer be considered a place of learning; instead we will be studying U.S. History and Calculus in a glorified shopping mall.
