The Observer, September 29, 2006
Volume XXXIX, Issue 5
mtvU calls for Case to join ecomagination Challenge
Concerned about the increasing threat of global warming and other environmental issues? Want to know how you can help solve environmental problems here on Case's own campus? Can't wait for The Roots concert this Saturday, and want to bring even more concerts to campus?
If you've answered yes to any of these questions, here's your chance: mtvU and General Electric have united to bring students the "ecomagination Challenge," a contest designed to encourage college students nationwide to make a lasting environmental impact on their own college campuses.
Students can sign up for the exclusive contest now at www.ecocollegechallenge.com. Ever since the site went live in August, college students have been registering proposals for projects and gaining more information on what exactly makes a college campus "green."
By encouraging students to implement projects through the ecomagination Challenge, mtvU and GE hope to spread nationwide awareness about impending environmental disasters. Lorraine Bolsinger, GE Vice President for ecomagination, said in a press release: "Tomorrow's answers come from questions asked on America's college campuses today…it's this kind of fresh thinking, by tomorrow's leaders, that will help us tackle our toughest environmental challenges – developing solutions that are broad, meaningful, and long-lasting."
Solutions may be submitted from now until Dec. 1, 2006. After 10 finalist entries are picked, GE will display project profiles on its website, and mtvU will televise select projects to a national audience. Other college students will vote on the top 10 proposals, and a winner (single person or team) will be announced in March 2007, based on environmental impact, economic viability, and creativity. A free concert will be held on the winning team's campus on Earth Day in spring 2007, and each team will receive a $25,000 grant for their project.
Speaking about the mtvU and GE collaboration, Stephen Friedman, General Manager of mtvU, believed that "GE has taken a leadership role in pioneering innovative environmental solutions, and we're proud to help them partner with the audience that will pioneer the eco-breakthroughs of tomorrow." According to Friedman, the innovative competition will "enable college students to sow local seeds of change that influence environmental betterment around the world."
Both mtvU (MTV's premier 24-hour university music channel) and GE (a diversified technology company dedicated to solving environmental issues and other world problems) are looking for "ambitious and innovative projects that considerably better the overall environmental health of campus [that] are cost-conscious and practical, and push the creative boundaries of "green" thinking."
The contest is part of the conclusion to mtvU and THINK MTV's year-long Break the Addiction movement, started to encourage students to help lower the increasing rate of global warming in today's society.
mtvU has been dedicated to providing college campuses with a personal music experience, providing everything from tailgate parties, student film festivals, and big-name musical acts on the college circuit, including Motion City Soundtrack. Get on a computer and head over to www.ecocollegechallenge.com now to sign up, and help bring a greener campus (and more rock) to Cleveland and Case! A cleaner school and good music: what more could you want?
