All of the schools put together some amazing final projects, but after counting all the legitimate votes, and calculating the judges’ scores, Western Kentucky emerged as our winner.The final vote total was:

Each of the judges ranked the projects from 1-10 (1 being the best), so a smaller sum total correlates to a better ranking. Their cumulative scores were:

Additionally, here is what the judges had to say about the projects (in no particular order):

Hofstra did a good job showing the struggles 1 billion people face on a daily basis around the world. Oftentimes it is easier for people to be impacted by a visual rather than a statistic - Great job showing everything from living conditions to limited food resources.

Western Kentucky showed hustle and energy and engaged the entire community which was impressive. Western Kentucky was savvy and the fact that they were able to get, for example, 160 people to send letters in support of the Education For All Act, showed a lot of tangible advocacy.

Kansas State did a great job reaching out to local media to spread more awareness.

The vigil was very powerful visual.

Campbellsville did a great job participating in a variety events that would reach different audiences. It is amazing how many activities you were able to host and be a part of. I hope the ONE group will continue to be involved in the campus and Campbellsville communities.

The fact that the UNLV students understood it was important both to praise a Senator supporting them and to push a Senator who was not was good, smart lobbying. Also, we can’t beat poverty on our own, and you did the best job of pulling other groups into the fight against poverty and got them to use their specific skills and interests to further the cause.

Brandeis - I loved the theme. The catchy theme was a great way to get people’s attention.

GWU did a great job demonstrating how cheap medications are for treatable diseases, it is important for people to understand something tangible like the cost of a pill. The petition delivery was the type of stunt that gets attention and sticks in people’s memories. Grade A advocacy right there.

Princeton did an amazing job inundating the campus with ONE materials the night before your campus event. I am glad you were able to make students comfortable enough to call their congressional members.

Wilmington - Engaging the local community is crucial. Hopefully you can start to build a sustainable group that bridges the campus and the community.

SHU did a great job with the playground and it was inspiring how they all were able to connect the local community to the greater global problem.

You know what is ridiculous? The complete lack of confidence in the amazing projects ALL of the top 10 schools did. I know the vast majority of these schools don’t even *want* the concert - that all came secondary to actually making a difference. It’s not about getting a free musical performance - it’s about making a difference in the world. Everyone needs to take a step back from voting, stop pointing fingers, and realize that *this* is how we got into the situation our world is in to begin with.

Those involved with ONE stand for eliminating extreme poverty and disease worldwide. Why don’t we all look and see what POSITIVE things we can say about the schools in the top ten? Try not to compliment your own school - we already know that YOU love their project.

For one, I LOVED George Washington’s use of the “Fresh African Water” in their final video submission. It was awesome - definitly got the message across. Western Kentucky’s breakdown of all the Millennium Development Goals was incredible as well - super effective. Hofstra is helping to educate children in Kenya - I’d say that’s a worthy cause. Campellsville, Kansas State, and Brandeis all had incredible awareness events as well. Wilmington College’s aspects of planning for their project in itself is daunting.

Post something here so long as you’ve got a positive thing to say. Anyone think of a project that no one did? Anything super creative? Let’s keep it going with some positive reinforcement here…

After almost 5 months of open competition, we’re now narrowing the competition down to the top ten schools:

1. Sacred Heart University
2. University of Nevada, Las Vegas
3. Brandeis University
4. Western Kentucky University
5. Princeton University
6. Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio
7. Kansas State University
8. George Washington University
9. Hofstra University
10. Campbellsville University

Each school will receive a $1,000 grant to create their own poverty advocacy program.

Thank you all for waiting patiently while we processed points. We know that the leader board might shift around a little, but at the point that we cut off the competition (Monday) these were the schools that made the cut for the final 10.

This doesn’t mean that the competition is over for everyone else. If you didn’t make the top ten, you can still create you very own advocacy project and submit it for a chance at a “wild card” spot. In late March when we all vote for the final winner, we’ll include the wild card entry in with the top 10 schools for voting.

Though the competition of the Campus Challenge is narrowing, the larger competition against extreme poverty is far from over. We’ve got lots of work to do, and it is crucial that we all continue to do the work we have done during the campus challenge, even if the fun and games are coming to a close.

Hey guys, long time no see. I don’t know what everyone else has been up to in the week since the Power 100 Summit, buttt I do know what I have been up to. That’s gaining an edge on the competition!!! However, I’m going to share with you exactly what I have been up to. So, I made the first episode of our weekly video blog a couple days ago and posted it on YouTube and our Facebook page. Yes, I know, I shouldn’t have posted it on YouTube, because now it will not get picked up by a power user and become the next “Evolution of Dance”. Anyways, I think video blogs can be very useful for helping the movement at everyone’s school. First, it allows people to actually see YOU. Second, it can be used to get your members on video speaking about ONE which will add credibility for the movement on your campus. Third, you can recap what you’ve done this week with pics and videos. Finally, it’s just another way to get the message out there about the movement at your school. I’ve also posted my video blog, which I must say is a little dull, but as the video blog progresses, there should be more exciting footage of members on the video blog. So, with that, I encourage everyone to have their own video blog and follow in the footsteps of our fearless leaders, Erin and Weldon.

Ryan

PS - Yes, I know, HAZZAH was not my sign off. It will never happen again.

George Washington University just won the last weekly challenge of the semester (best World AIDS Day event) and snagged 10,000 points. They teamed up with 21 other student organizations to march across Washington, D.C. (using the distinct advantage of being in the capitol) to rally in front of the White House. There they heard from speakers including Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.’s non-voting member of Congress.

They beat out several very impressive pool of 56 other events.  Some featured free HIV/AIDS testing, while others kept it simple and simply passed out ribbons and signed up new ONE members.  Whatever your event was, congratulations, you made this an AIDS Day to remember.

The newly formed chapter at George Washington University grabbed 1,000 points by getting their varsity soccer team to line up for a great picture in their jerseys and ONE bands.