ONTARIO, Canada – Several Canadian universities are upset with a new contest sponsored by Molson Canadian Beer and popular social Web site Facebook.com.
The contest, called Campus Challenge, asks for entrants to upload photos on the site from campus parties. The university with the most submissions wins the contest, and the student who submits the judges’ favorite pick will win a Spring Break trip to Cancun, Mexico.
Critics from Memorial University – a frontrunner for the competition – believe that the contest is detrimental to the school’s image.
Posted on Facebook are photos of students dressed in togas drinking large amounts of beer. One picture features a female student grabbing a handful of beers. The image is labeled “Four drinks on the go at 10 a.m.”
University of Western Ontario also thinks the contest ruins their school’s image. External Vice President Ted Gerrard said that Western is more than just a place for parties; it’s a place that focuses on educating students.
However, the spokeswoman for Molson, Cynthea Galbraith, says partying means having a good time with friends after classes are finished for the day.
The contest is available to post-secondary schools throughout Canada, excluding Quebec because Molson is not distributed there.