College Access Challenge
Posted by The Skyliner on October 28th, 2009Candice Paschall
Staff Writer
How does a brand new 17 inch Apple MacBook Pro sound? What if that MacBook also had Final Cut Studio pre-installed on it? What if it was free? Contestants in the College Access Challenge have the chance of winning one with the submission of a video shorter than three minutes. It sounds too good to be true, but there is not a catch. All students have to do is make a video that is three minutes long or less that convinces people to “get off the couch” and go to college. The contest has already begun and lasts until February 27, 2010.
The rules are pretty basic: after making the video, just upload it to collegeaccesschallenge.org and wait for it to be approved. They accept all video formats as long as the videos don’t include any inappropriate content. In addition to the first place MacBook Pro, second place wins a 15 inch MacBook Pro with Final Cut Express preinstalled, while third place earns the same computer with a 13 inch screen. Two honorable mentions will each receive an iPod Touch.
This contest is sponsored by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education and South Carolina Education Television. This comes on the heels of the unemployment rate being so high nationally, at 9.8 percent. In the state of South Carolina alone, 11.6 percent of people are unemployed. On a more local level, in the Greenville/Mauldin/Easley area, the unemployment rate is 10.4 percent. The jobs that are facing the most losses are those in labor that does not require a degree: construction, manufacturing and retail trade.
“Not many people in the U.S. are qualified enough to apply for jobs that require higher [education] and that is because not many Americans take it seriously [enough] to qualify themselves by going to colleges and universities,” Shurajit Gopal, broadcast media instructor, said.
The College Access Challenge is a great opportunity not only for students to influence their peers, but also to influence the world around them. So what do you have to lose? “Get off the couch,” or in this case, out of your dorm, and make a video.
Tags: Fall 2009, Vol. 109 - Issue 7