Complete Rules

These are the official rules for the 2008 "Don't Get Debt Disease" skill contest:

Sponsor
The 2008 "Don't Get Debt Disease" skill contest ("Contest") is sponsored by the Service Employees International Union, 1800 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20036 ("Sponsor" or "We"). All inquiries should be directed to soundoff@KeepItInYourPants.Org or, by mail, to www.KeepItInYourPants.Org, 1800 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20036.

Eligibility
The Contest is open to legal residents of the United States who are (1) 14 years of age or older by February 6, 2008, and (2) enrolled in school at the time the Contest commences-either middle school, junior high school, high school, college, or a graduate program. Employees, officers, directors, agents, representatives and independent contractors (and their immediate family members and members of the same households, whether related or not) of the Service Employees International Union or any of its local unions (and their immediate family members and members of the same household, whether related or not) are not eligible to participate. Judges and members of the Review Panel (and their immediate family members and members of the same households, whether related or not) are not eligible to participate. Void outside of the United States, and where prohibited by law. All contest rules are subject to all federal, state and local laws and regulations.

Participants agree to abide by the terms of these official rules and by the decisions of the Sponsor. All decisions of the Sponsor are final and binding on all matters pertaining to this Contest.

Contest Procedure and Rules

1. PURPOSE. Credit card debt is becoming a disease that gets spread person by person, family by family, community by community. Default rates, late fees, overlimit fees-where does it stop? These fees and penalties create the cycle known as "Debt Disease"-a trap that too many credit card holders fall into. Once Debt Disease takes hold, card holders usually find it difficult, if not impossible, to find a cure. How does it happen? In the small print-which you know you didn't read when you signed up for that credit card-you probably gave your Bank the right to charge you around $40 every time you miss a payment, and to jack up your interest rate without warning when you do. These fees and penalties add up. Even if you try to make the rest of your payments on time, the fees and jacked up interests rates caused by just a few late payments can mean that Big Banks can end up charging you up to double your initial loan, based on all the fees and interest payments. We're calling on you to sound the alarm on Debt Disease! In this Contest, American student filmmakers are invited to submit videos that provide public service announcements about the Debt Disease epidemic.

2. CRITERIA. Videos will be judged on four criteria, as follows:

   1. Content and Message (30%): Does the video stay on the topic of debt and its effect on youth today? Does it help us better understand why or how people are at risk of Debt Disease, or what can be done to prevent it? Personal stories can be as effective, if not more, than general analyses.
   2. Persuasiveness (30%): How compelling is the video's message? Does it bring attention to the dangers of Debt Disease and compel youth to pay attention to it?
   3. Creativity and Originality (20%): How fresh is the video's message, or its take on familiar themes?
   4. Artistic Quality (20%): How good is the video itself? Is it visually appealing?

3. HOW TO ENTER. You must complete two steps within the Contest Period in order to enter the Contest: (a) registration, and (b) video submission. The Contest Period begins at 9:00:01 am EST February 6, 2008 and continues until 11:59:59 pm EST March 19, 2008. Registration forms and video submissions to the Contest Website will be deemed timely if registered by the Contest Website within the Contest Period. Registration forms and video submissions by mail must be postmarked with a date falling within the Contest Period.

   1. Registration: First, you must register. You can register online at our Contest Website, www.KeepItInYourPants.org/entercontest.cfm. Alternatively, you can call 202-730-7119 and request a registration form, which you must then fill out mail to Keep It In Your Pants, 1800 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036. INCOMPLETE REGISTRATION FORMS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
   2. Video Submission: Second, you must submit your video. You can submit your video either by uploading it onto the Contest Website, www.KeepItInYourPants.org, or by mailing a your video on compact disc ("CD") or DVD to Keep It In Your Pants, 1800 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036.

4. VIDEO LENGTH AND FORMAT VIDEO LENGTH AND FORMAT. All videos must be no less than 30 seconds, and no more than 60 seconds, in length. All videos must be in either MPEG, MP4, MOV, AVI, or WMV formats. Videos may not exceed 10MB in size. Any video that fails to meet these length, format, and size requirements will be automatically disqualified.

5. PREPARATION AND QUANTITY. Entrants are welcome to develop their video submissions either alone or in collaboration with others. Entrants that choose to prepare their submissions in collaboration with others must complete the registration form in the name of one person; the registered person, alone, is eligible to win any of the prizes. Entrants may submit more than one video during the course of the Contest Period. Entrants that submit more than one video must complete a separate registration form for each submission.

6. CONTENT. Videos must be either in English, or in Spanish with English subtitles. Videos may be in color, or in black and white.

   1. Required Content.
      1. Permissions: If the submission contains any person(s) other than the Entrant, by entering this video Contest, the Entrant agrees to receive permission from that featured person (of from that person's parent or legal guardian if the person is considered a minor in her or his state of residence) for the Sponsor to use that person's likeness for publicity, including dissemination on the internet. The Entrant agrees to provide the Sponsor with a copy of the permission upon request.
   2. Prohibited Content. Any video which contains any of the following prohibited content will be disqualified at the sole discretion of the Sponsor. Any decision by the Sponsor to disqualify a video based on prohibited content is final.
      1. Copyright: Videos must not contain any copyrighted material, not in the public domain, for which the contestant has not obtained the right to use. Such material includes, but is not limited to, video, music, artwork, photographs, statements, voice-overs, and any other copyrightable media.
      2. Defamation and Invasion of Privacy: Videos must not contain any material deemed defamatory, as determined by the Sponsor at its sole discretion. All content must be either opinion or actual truth. Videos must not invade the privacy of any person, as determined by the sole discretion of the Sponsor.
      3. Obscenity, Pornography, and Offensive Material: Videos must not contain any material that contains nudity, lewd, or vulgar behavior, as determined by the sole discretion of the Sponsor. They must not contain any material deemed obscene or pornographic, as determined by the sole discretion of the Sponsor. They must not contain any material deemed patently offensive on the basis of race, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, family status, physical ability, socioeconomic status, or any other similar basis, as determined at the sole discretion of the Sponsor.

Selection Process

All video submissions and registration forms will be initially reviewed for compliance with the Contest Rules.

Video submissions deemed, in the sole discretion of the Sponsor, to comply with the Contest Rules will then be forwarded on to the Review Panel. The Review Panel will review each of these submissions in light of the four criteria described in more detail above: (1) insightfulness of diagnosis or cure, (2) persuasiveness, (3) creativity and originality, and (4) artistic quality. Each member of the Review Panel will assign a score to each submission, based on these criteria. Submissions will receive a Total Score, based on the sum of each score assigned by each member of the Review Panel. The twenty (20) entries with the greatest Total Scores will be forwarded to the Contest Judges, for the second round of judging. In case there is a relevant tie score, the tie break procedure described below will apply.

Members of the Review Panel include:

• Lynda Tran, Assistant Director of Communications, SEIU
• Tanya Aquino, Communications Specialist, SEIU

The Contest Judges will then review the top twenty (20) entries. Judges will assign scores to each submission, based on the criteria. Submissions will receive a Total Score, based on the sum of each score assigned by each Contest Judge. The submission with the highest score will be the first-place winner. The four (4) submissions with the next-highest scores will be the runners up. In case there is a relevant tie, the tie break procedure described below will apply.

The Contest Judges are:

• William Upski Wimsatt is Director of The League of Young Voters which supports young people to be players and winners in the political game nationwide through organizing, developing leaders, running issue campaigns, and winning elections (www.theleague.com). We focus in four states: PA, WI, ME & CA, with tools available nationally. Originally a graffiti writer from Chicago turned journalist turned political organizer, Billy has written, edited or published five books Bomb the Suburbs (1994) No More Prisons (1999); Another World is Possible (2001) Future 500: Youth Organizing and Activism in the US (2002); How to Get Stupid White Men Out Of Office (2004).
• Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr., currently serves as President of the Hip Hop Caucus in Washington, D.C. The Hip Hop Caucus is a national, nonprofit, nonpartisan, organization that inspires and motivates those born after the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and encourages the Hip Hop generation to utilize its political and social voice. Rev. Yearwood is known for his activist work as the National Director of the Gulf Coast Renewal Campaign, the co-creator of the 2004 campaign "Vote or Die" with Sean "Diddy" Combs, and recently led a "Make Hip Hop Not War" national tour to engage more young people in the movement for peace. Rev. Yearwood has been seen on CNN, BET Tonight, MTV, BBC, C-Span, and Hardball with Chris Mathews and featured in the Washington Post, The New York Times and VIBE.

Number of Rounds
There will be two rounds in this Contest. In the first round, the Review Panel will select the top 20 videos from all eligible videos submitted. The Review Panel will forward these 20 videos to the Judges. The Judges will then select one (1) first-place winning video, and four (4) runners up.

Grant of Rights in Videos Submitted; Originality of Video By completing the registration and submission process, the Entrant irrevocably grants Sponsor and its affiliates, legal representatives, assigns, agents and licensees, the unconditional and perpetual right and permission to copyright (as appropriate), reproduce, encode, store, coy, transmit, publish, post, broadcast, display, publicly perform, adapt, exhibit and/or otherwise use or reuse (without limitations to when or to the number of times used), the Entrant's Submission, including, but not limited to, the video or digital recording and the performances contained therein (in each case, as submitted or as edited/modified in any way by the Sponsor, in its sole discretion), as well as to use the Entrant's name, city/state, image, voice, likeness, biographical material and photograph (collectively "Likeness"), and/or statements regarding his/her participation in this Contest as well as any additional photographic images, video images, portraits, interviews or other materials relating to the Entrant and arising out of Entrant's participating in this Contest (with or without using the Entrant's name) (collectively, the "Additional Materials") in any and all media throughout the world for any purpose, without limitation as to time or territory, and without additional review, compensation or approval from the Entrant or any other party-except where prohibited by law. Entrant waives intellectual property rights, privacy/publicity rights or other legal or moral rights that might preclude the Sponsor's use of the submission and agrees not to sue or assert any claim against the Sponsor for the use of the Submission or Entrant's Likeness or statements.

Entrant represents and warrants that the video is original, does not infringe the rights or intellectual property claims of any third parties, and the submission of the video will not violate any enforceable agreements or understandings submitter has with any third party.

Cost
There is no cost to participate in the Contest. NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY.

Payments
The prize for the video picked by the judges to be the first place winner is a $5,000 scholarship to be used for school and/or school-related expenses. (In case the first place winner is a considered a minor in the state in which she or he resides, the payment will be made to the minor's parent or legal guardian.) The prize for each of the four (4) runners up is a $500 scholarship to be used for school and/or school-related expenses. All prize winners will also have their videos publicized on SEIU's website. All winners will be required to submit an Affidavit of Eligibility, in which they affirm that they meet the eligibility requirements for the Contest. In addition to the Affidavit of Eligibility, winners may also be required to submit an Affidavit of Compliance, a Release, a Promise to use the prize money for schooling, and such other forms as the Sponsor may require.

All five prize winners will also receive an all-expenses paid trip to Charlotte, North Carolina in order to participate in a Red Carpet Screening on April 23, 2008. In case any of the prize winners are minors, the Sponsor will also provide an all-expenses paid trip to Charlotte, North Carolina for one (1) parent or legal guardian of that minor to accompany him or her to the Screening.

An "all-expenses paid trip" shall mean: (1) roundtrip plane tickets from anywhere within the United States to Charlotte, North Carolina (alternate modes of transportation may be substituted at the mutual agreement of the prize-winner and the Sponsor); (2) lodging for two nights at a hotel chosen by the Sponsor in Charlotte, North Carolina; and (3) meals and incidental expenses up to $40 per day for two days.

The total retail value for the all-expenses paid trips to Charlotte will vary depending on the prize-winner's place of residence. However, such trips are worth approximately $800 per person.

Number of Recipients; Ties
There will be five (5) recipients of prizes. The first-place winner will receive a $5,000 scholarship for school and school-related expenses; the four (4) runners up will each receive a $500 scholarship for school and school-related expenses. The odds of winning depend on the Entrant's skill and on the number of entries.

There will be no ties during any round. If there is a relevant tie in score between two or more videos, in either of the two rounds of selection, there will be a run-off vote between the videos with the same score. Each member of the Review Panel (in the first round) and of the Contest Judges (in the second round) will have one vote, which he or she shall cast in favor of the single video deemed to be most effective-in light of all four Contest Criteria. Run-offs will continue until the tie is broken.

Notification; Provision of Phone Number, Address
By entering the Contest, each Entrant grants the Sponsor permission to contact him or her in connection with Contest matters. Winners will be notified via email, phone, or mail (as provided to the Sponsor in the Registration process) within approximately three (3) business days after a determination that they are eligible to receive a prize. Upon reaching the winners, the Sponsor will also send the relevant Affidavit(s) and forms necessary to receive the prizes. If the recipient cannot be reached by email, phone, or mail within seven business days of the first attempt to notify them, the Sponsor shall make a second attempt. In the event that the recipient cannot be reached within seven business days of the second attempt to notify them, the payment may be forfeited and the next successful participant will receive this payment.

Dates
The Contest will begin at 9:00:01 am EST Wednesday, February 6, 2008. Submissions will be accepted until 11:59:59 pm EST March 19, 2008. The top semi-finalists videos chosen by the Review Panel will be announced on the Contest Website on April 2, 2008. Winners selected by the Contest Judges will be announced at a Red Carpet Screening of all winning videos will take place on April 23, 2008.

Delivery of Payments
All prize-winners must execute an Affidavit of Eligibility and Release, any Permission forms made necessary by the content of the videos, a Model Release and such other forms as the Sponsor may require, and return these documents via the provided overnight shipping supplies within five (5) business days of receipt. If these documents are returned as undeliverable or are not completed and returned by such deadline or if a potential winner does not meet the eligibility or other requirements of the Contest, the payment will be forfeited and the next highest vote-getter may be chosen. The Sponsor will award payment to the winning Entrants at a Red Carpet Screening on April 23, 2008. In case a minor, as determined by the person's state of residence, submits a winning video, payment will be made to that person's parent or legal guardian. If a winner is unable to attend the Red Carpet Screening, the payment will be sent by overnight mail to the addresses provided; shipping costs are included with the payment. The Sponsor shall not be responsible for misdelivery of any documents and/or payments provided that the Sponsor addresses the documents and/or payments to the address provided by the winner.

Announcement of Recipients
The Sponsor will announce the winners and post their names and home towns on the Contest Website site following the completion of the Contest and the execution of an Affidavit of Eligibility, Compliance and Release, and such other forms as Sponsor may require.

Use of Winners' Names and Likeness
Each winner who accepts any payment will be deemed thereby to have granted to the Sponsor the right, at any time and from time to time, to print, publish, broadcast and use, worldwide and in any media now known or hereafter developed, including but not limited to, the Internet and world wide web, the name, portrait, picture, voice, likeness and biographical information of each such recipient as news or information and for advertising and promotional purposes without additional consideration, except where prohibited by law.

Disqualification
The Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any participant that it determines, in its sole discretion, is ineligible to participate in the Contest. Failure to comply with these rules may result in a participant's disqualification.

Limitation of Liability
If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, the Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual who tampers with the Contest, and to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest. The Sponsor assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, entries. The Sponsor is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, compact discs ("CDs") or other hardware storing videos, software, failure of any e-mail to be received by the Sponsor on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any Web site, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to participant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in this Contest.

Limitation of Remedies
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE, SHALL THE SPONSOR OR AFFIATED ENTITIES OR ITS SUCCESSORS OR ASSIGNS, OR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS AND REPRESENTATIVES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFITS OR HARM TO BUSINESS OR REPUTATION, ARISING OUT OF PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST, POSTING ON OR ACCESS AND/OR DOWNLOAD OF ANY MATERIALS OR INFORMATION FROM ANY WEB SITE OWNED, OPERATED OR CONTROLLED BY THE SPONSOR OR AFFILIATED ENTITIES, OR ACCEPTANCE OR USAGE OF A PAYMENT, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DAMAGE TO PROPERTY AND, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, DAMAGES FOR BODILY OR PERSONAL INJURY, EVEN IF THE SPONSOR OR ANY AFFILIATED ENTITES, THEIR SUCCESSORS OR ASSIGNS, OR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, SHAREHOLDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS OR REPRESENTATIVES HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR LOSS. THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF SPONSOR ARISING OUT OF ANY KIND OF CLAIM (WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE) SHALL NOT EXCEED $1.00. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Amendments
We reserve the right to suspend, cancel, terminate or modify the Contest without advance notice, and thereafter to re-commence such Contest, if at all, only at such time(s) and upon such terms and conditions as we shall deem reasonable under the circumstances.

Severability
If any one or more provisions of these Official Rules are held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not affect the validity, effect or enforcement of any other provision or provisions of these Official Rules.

Recipients List
A list of winners will be posted on the Contest Website at the conclusion of the Contest. For a copy of the winners list, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Don't Get Debt Disease, 1800 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, D.C. 20036. For a copy of these official rules send a self-addressed stamped envelope to above address marked Don't Get Debt Disease, Attn: Rules.

Jurisdiction; Venue
Any dispute that may arise hereunder, if not settled by the parties directly or through alternate dispute resolution, shall be brought solely in the appropriate state or federal court sitting in Washington, D.C., and participants consent to the personal jurisdiction and venue thereof.