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Back in November, we told you about Campus Champions of Change, curious to see what ideas y'all might come up with. Those ideas? Whoa. Don't get us wrong — we've always had faith in young ambition — but we're pretty floored by the submissions. With a record high number of applicants, judges whittled the list down to 15 finalists with crazy-innovative ideas for sparking school-wide social change. Now it's up to the rest of us to send a handful of winners straight to the White House. Are you up for the challenge?
Voting opens today and runs only until March 3, after which the top 5 students/projects with the most votes will head to the White House. The top 5 will also be profiled right here on Act and host an episode of mtvU’s signature program, "The Dean’s List." The hosting gig is quality real estate as mtvU reaches up to 9 million viewers from 750 college campuses. Vote on Campus Champion of Change projects like ...
Swipes for the Homeless, a brilliant system set up by UCLA student Thach "Tak" Nguyen, who figured out that all of those unused swipes on students' meal plan cards didn't have to go to waste. Rather than binging on surplus meals each semester's end (a person can only take so many rice bowls and fro-yo's, after all), Nguyen designed a program that lets students send healthy, fresh food to homeless shelters and learn about local hunger issues.
The Big Event, championed by Texas A&M student Katherine Calle. Though it's been around for decades, Katherine is hoping to gather some backing for "the largest one-day, student-run service project in the nation." How large? Last year, 15,6000 participants helped to kick in 1,500 volunteer tasks in the community. Not bad.
Green Campus: Engineers for a Sustainable World, set up by Martin Figueroa from University of California at Merced. He declared war on wasteful water habits, motivating 600 peers through a month-long competition called "The Water Battle." After saving around 89,000 gallons in just 31 days (and discovering 7 leaks in the school’s residences), it became clear that Figueroa was onto something.
... and to think: These are just three of the 15 game-changers vying for top honors. Head over to the White House Campus Champions of Change for info on all of the 15 finalists, and cast your vote today!
actTAKE ACTION!
Vote for Champions of Change
Which Campus Champions of Change project deserves top honors? Cast your vote between now and March 3.
