As Rocklin High welcomed its students back with Runaway Week, ASB chose a noticeably new and unprecedented theme: Chick-fil-A. Dress-up days that week, named after Chick-fil-A’s products, include “Sauce in Paradise”, “Zesty Buffalo Sauce” and “BBQ Sauce.”

Although Chick-fil-A has been one of Rocklin High’s sponsors for years, their newfound involvement on campus raises some important questions – ones that are part of a bigger issue.

What are we gaining from their involvement in spirit week? What role should corporations play in the classroom? What kinds of strings can they attach to their “philanthropy?” And how much advertising in school is too much?

The ethics of corporate sponsorship in education has become a national issue in recent years. Schools, desperately underfunded and unable to rely upon government aid, have turned to accepting businesses as sponsors. McDonald’s, Levi’s jeans and Bing (among many, many others) have all begun to invest in public elementary, middle and high schools.

However, products being peddled through school-sanctioned resources and activities (such as spirit week) should be concerning. Children and teenagers are especially vulnerable to advertising, making us the ideal targets for building brand loyalty.

This means that Nike and Chick-fil-A probably aren’t sponsoring us out of some sort of altruistic burst of good will. Instead, it’s to make sure we buy into their brand and products. This invasion of corporate advertising into an educational institution is threatening the integrity and the trustworthiness of schools everywhere.

I want Rocklin High School to be well-funded as much as the next person, but the involvement of Chick-fil-A in Runaway Week is taking this sponsorship a step too far. Students are dressing up as their mascot, holding their signs and memorizing their product. An entire week is dedicated to celebrating a corporation who wants nothing more than to ensure we become lifelong customers.

I don’t like this new kind of spirit week. I don’t like what this says about the sponsorships Rocklin High will continue to receive. And I certainly don’t like what this suggests about the future of education as a whole.

However, the fact that schools are so hard-pressed for funding is still an issue regardless of the ethics of corporate sponsorship. I recommend that we continue to keep our sponsors on the backs of t-shirts and on posters in the gym. This sort of advertising is confined to locations that don’t permeate the entire school, classrooms included.

Runaway Week is a fun way to welcome back students. But Runaway week’s unusual and conspicuous theme is a little hard to swallow.