Editor,

On a recent drive home, I passed a sign at McDonald’s that led me to do a double take. I had to turn around and inquire what it was. A local public school had “taken over” the fast food restaurant as a fundraiser.

This made me think and question the educators about the choice they were making to promote such a place.

There are a few different sides to this, meaning a legal side and a moral side. I am sure they covered their duck as far as the legal side goes.

Can a public supported entity take funds through a fundraising practice?

I was more interested in the moral side.

As educators I believe that we have a moral responsibility to promote healthy lifestyles. I am going to draw comparison to an industry that most people would agree is not good for one’s health and would never promote it to children, the tobacco industry.

I think we all agree that smoking is addictive and will eventually cause health failure if done over a period of time with great frequency. Would one not agree that fast food does the same? It is loaded with sodium and sugar that the body relates as wanting and thus forms that addiction.

Consuming these things over time with frequency would surely cause obesity as well as body organ failure.

When I inquired inside the restaurant about this, I was met with walkaways and, “well they are giving us 20 percent of the funds received.”

That is very noble and, I am sure, the tobacco industry would give you a ton more money to put cigarette machines in schools. Of course, that would be illegal.

I am sure there are far better ways to raise funds for school than promoting an institution that causes obesity.

I challenge the educators to think outside the box.

Curtis Vieke

Oak Harbor