TAP-A-PALOOZA CONTEST: 2019 STUDENT HANDBOOK

2

Section 1: About the Organization and Tap-a-paloozaSection 2: Get the Facts on Bottled WaterSection 3: Contest Rules and RegistrationSection 4: Collecting PledgesSection 5: Building Momentum on CampusSection 6: Social Media TipsSection 7: Additional Resources Sample class rap – Page 12 Sample tabling rap – Page 13 Flyers – Pages 14-15

TABLE OF CONTENTS

3

Who is Food & Water Watch? Food & Water Watch is a non-profit organization that champions healthy food and clean water for all. We stand up to corporations that put profits before people, and advocate for a democracy that improves people’s lives and protects our environment. Our staff, located in 13 offices in the United States, works with a range of constituencies to inform and hold decision-makers accountable. Our international staff in Latin America and the European Union (where we are known as Food & Water Europe) work with coalition partners to track the global impact of U.S. corporations on public policy.

Read more on our website: foodandwaterwatch.org

Tap-a-palooza is a campus contest through the Take Back the Tap campaign, a project of Food & Water Watch. (Why so many different names, you ask? Read below for background on each.) Students involved in Take Back the Tap run campaigns to end the sale of bottled water on their campus. Whether or not you’re running a campaign, you’re welcome to join the contest!

What is Take Back the Tap?Take Back the Tap, an advocacy campaign of Food & Water Watch, is designed to build a movement for protecting and conserving water and ensuring that water management remains in the public domain rather than in the hands of private corporations. One of the Take Back the Tap campaign goals is to decrease consumption and sales of bottled water. Millions of U.S. consumers drink bottled water every year, in part because they think that it is safer or better than tap water. Rather than buying into this myth of purity in a bottle, consumers should drink from the tap. Students participating in Take Back the Tap organize campaigns to end the sale of bottled water on their campuses.

Sign up to launch a campaign here: fwwat.ch/LearnMoreTBTT

What is the Tap-a-palooza Contest? Tap-a-palooza is the Take Back the Tap campus contest to reduce bottled water consumption at your school. It works by raising awareness about the problems with bottled water and collecting student pledges to choose tap water and not use bottled water. While it’s a competition, the ultimate goal is to bring the student movement against bottled water together to educate thousands and reduce bottled water use on campuses across the country.

The contest starts on World Water Day (Friday, March 22, 2019) and ends on Earth Day (Monday, April 22, 2019). The two winning campuses that collect the most pledges will receive funding for a hydration station or other improvements to public water infrastructure on campus.

This student handbook is designed to help you create a winning plan to start reducing bottled water use and build support for tap water on your campus. Start by familiarizing yourself with the facts — learn why eliminating bottled water on college campuses will help prevent irresponsible spending, reduce carbon footprints, and promote social and environmental responsibility among students. We hope you’ll join the Tap-a-palooza contest and the movement to support everyone’s right to safe, clean, and public water!

To join the contest, make sure you register your school here: fwwat.ch/2019TaP

SECTION 1: ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION AND TAP-A-PALOOZA

4

SECTION 2: GET THE FACTS ON BOTTLED WATER

The bottled water industry is making huge profits by turning our most precious resource — water — into a commodity for sale. They’ve undermined public trust in our tap water through decades of advertising, but we see through their myths. Take Back the Tap and the Tap-a-palooza contest are tools to help students raise awareness that tap water is better than bottled water in every category.

Environment• Tap water has the lowest water and carbon footprint of any

beverage.

• Bottled water is energy-intensive.

» Enough energy is used in producing and transporting bottled water to fuel 1.5 million cars for a year.

• Bottled water is wasteful.

» Water: 1 liter of bottled water takes 2 liters of water to produce.

» Plastic: Only 1 out of 4 bottles is recycled.

Human Rights• Water is our most basic, essential resource. We can’t live without it

and there’s no substitute. It belongs in public hands.

» Private water corporations shouldn’t be making a profit by buying and selling our water.

• Almost half of all bottled water comes from municipal sources, depleting local water supplies.

• Water infrastructure is severely lacking, outdated, and failing across the country most predominantly in communities of color (Black, Latino, and Indigenous).

Safety• Bottled water companies spend millions of dollars on advertising

to make consumers believe that bottled water is cleaner and safer than tap water, when in fact fewer than three people at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversee the regulation of bottled water.

» The Environmental Protection Agency requires utility companies to test tap water 100 times per month, whereas bottled water is tested less frequently by the FDA, with no public accountability.

Cost• Bottled water is far more expensive than tap water.

» One gallon of water purchased as individual 16.9-ounce bottles costs nearly 2,400 times as much as a gallon of tap water. Think about that: Would you pay $10,000 for a sandwich?

5

REGISTRATION AND GUIDELINES:

1. All accredited institutions are eligible to participate. If you haven’t yet, register your campus here: fwwat.ch/2019TaP

2. Spread the word on your campus to get people talking and taking action to support public water. See page 8 for outreach ideas.

3. Remember, only pledges with .edu email addresses will be counted toward your school’s total.

4. Stay tuned for weekly contest updates to track your progress on the campus leaderboard here: fwwat.ch/TaP2019Leaderboard

Month-Long Contest: The contest runs from 12 a.m. local time on World Water Day (Friday, March 22, 2019) until 11:59 p.m. local time on Earth Day (Monday, April 22, 2019).

How it works:Students text “I <3 Tap” to 69866, and then respond when asked for their .edu email address. Food & Water Watch tallies up .edu email addresses to see which school has the most pledges.

Goal:Collect the most pledges from among your campus community, per capita or overall, to stop drinking bottled water and start drinking tap water.

Prize & Winners: The campuses with the most pledges to support public water sources receives $1,500 to use toward water improvements on campus, like a water hydration station. There are two winners: the school with the most overall pledges and the school with the most pledges as a proportion of school size.

SECTION 3: CONTEST RULES AND REGISTRATION

All the official stuff you need to know to enter and participate in the 2019 Tap-a-palooza contest.

6

SECTION 3: CONTEST RULES AND REGISTRATION (CONTINUED)

Photo Contest Rules

• Eligibility: » Contest is open to schools participating in the 2019 Tap-a-palooza contest.

• Prize: » Two campuses will be awarded $250 for winning photos.

» Prize #1: Most Likes: The picture with the most Likes on Instagram (your original post plus @foodandwaterwatch’s repost) will win one prize.

» Prize #2: Staff Favorite: The second prize goes to the school with the photo Food & Water Watch staff find most compelling!

• How to Enter: » Post your photo on Instagram. Your Instagram submission must also:

» Tag @foodandwaterwatch

» Tag your school’s Instagram page (if possible)

» Use the hashtag #TakeBackTheTap and/or #Tapapalooza

» Submit photo to campus@fwwatch.org with the subject line “Photo Contest Entry: [School Name]”, along with a link to their Instagram post.

» Your account must be following @foodandwaterwatch

» There is no limit to the number of photos each school can submit. In order to be considered, all photos must meet the following criteria:

» Includes the Take Back the Tap or Tap-a-palooza logo

» Photographic quality

» Conveys the Tap-a-palooza contest

Looking for Inspiration? You can check out the winning photos from previous years HERE.

7

SECTION 4: COLLECTING PLEDGES

Text to Pledge• Text “I <3 tap” to 69866 (or any variation, “I heart tap” or “I love tap”)**Pledge signers must also reply with their .edu email address to make it count toward your school’s total.

Tips for Getting Started and Collecting PledgesSET GOALS• For your campus: Have a concrete goal of the total number of pledges you’d like to collect, break that

number down by week and set benchmarks to keep you on track. We suggest a goal of 300 pledges to start.

• For each event: Depending on where you’re collecting pledges, you can usually collect about 10 pledges an hour. Figure out how many hours you’ll be there, and set individual and team goals.

DON’T DO IT ALL ALONE!• It’s more fun with a group. If you’re part of an environmental club on campus, propose taking the

contest on as a project of your group, or ask your friends or classmates to take this on with you.

• Once you have a group together, set a regular weekly check-in time to keep track of your progress. Make sure everyone on the team has a specific realm that they can bottom-line, so the work is distributed.

GET YOUR MATERIALS READY• Print materials: Print copies of the flyer (in the back of this handbook) and get your group together to

create banners and signs to use to promote the contest on campus.

• Order Materials: You can request stickers, signs, and handouts from us here: fwwat.ch/TBTTmaterials

MAKE A STRONG CALL TO ACTION• Keep your message simple and to the point and make your ask strong and confident. See the sample

rap (script) at the end of the handbook.

» e.g., “Will you take the pledge?” (vs. “Would you mind pledging?”)

TIP: Don’t waste time trying to convince people who aren’t with you. While it may be tempting, remember that the goal is to identify people who support your campaign and to give them an opportunity to take action.

TAKE THE TAP-A-PALOOZA PLEDGE!We believe water should be safe, accessible and affordable for all, and that clean water is a basic human right and a public service, not a corporate commodity.

I pledge to:

• Choose tap water over bottled water whenever possible.• Fill a reusable bottle with tap water.• Support policies that promote clean, affordable tap water for all.

8

Now that you’ve set your pledge goals and learned how to collect pledges, you’re ready to brainstorm the different tactics you’ll need to build momentum and meet your goals. Here are some ideas for tactics to collect pledges:

One-on-One OutreachTap into your personal network: Think of friends, classmates, co-workers, etc. who would take the pledge. Ask them to take the pledge online or in person. Once they do, ask them to pass it on to 5 of their friends to do the same. You can quickly reach hundreds by creating a ripple effect.

Set up a table or stand with a clipboard: Find a high-traffic area and ask passersby to take the pledge. Make a sign with the “text to pledge” instructions, so it’s visible from far away and people passing by can easily take action. See Page 13 for a sample Tabling rap.

Collect photo pledges: Set up a creative and fun photo booth in a high-traffic area. Use the photos on social media and generate buzz around the competition.

SECTION 5: BUILDING MOMENTUM ON CAMPUS

Reaching Out to Large GroupsClass raps: Ask your professors if you can announce the competition in your classes. Give a quick speech about the importance of tap water and why students should support public water, and then ask everyone to take the pledge. You can ask everyone to get their phones out and ask them to take the pledge by texting in. See the sample class rap at the end of the handbook. See Page 12 for a sample class rap.

Club meetings: Make a list of campus student groups and ask to make a short pitch at the beginning or end and ask everyone to text in their pledge.

Plug in to large on-campus events: Find out if your campus is having any large events, game days, or festivals that could be opportunities for you to offer tap water and collect pledges.

Host campus-wide events: Organize a film screening of FLOW, Tapped, or Blue Gold or host a panel discussion with professors and/or representatives from local organizations. Make a pitch at the beginning and end to text the pledge.

TIP: When you’re speaking to large groups, prompt action by making a strong pitch at the end of your announcement. E.g. “Everyone take out your phone right now (pause while they do). Start a new message to 6-9-8-6-6. (Pause…) Then type in ‘I Heart Tap.’ Hit send, then reply back with your school email address so it will count for our campus. Thanks!”

9

Reaching the MassesSidewalk chalk/Banner drop: Set up some visible signage on campus. Write the text instructions on the sidewalk in huge letters, or drop a sheet or banner on a visible area on campus.

Broadcast the competition: Announce your participation on social media (See our Social Media Tips starting on Page 10) and through department or student group listservs, and put flyers up in residence halls and other high-traffic areas on campus. Think about how news spreads on your campus and how you can plug in to get the word out. Make Facebook posts or tweets at strategic times of the day about the Tap-a-Palooza Contest and asking students to take the pledge. Pass this along to other student groups you have connections with!

Use campus media: Pitch your school paper to write an article to cover the contest, and include a call to action. Consider asking for a regular column with weekly updates on the progress to keep momentum going. You can use this sample Media Advisory to let your campus and local media know about Tap-a-palooza.

Visual artistic displays: Get creative! Build an art installation to attract attention on campus. One idea is to use water bottles from your campus to display the amount of waste produced by consumption of bottled water.

SECTION 5: BUILDING MOMENTUM ON CAMPUS (CONTINUED)

AFTER THE CONTEST:Don’t let all that

momentum go to waste! If you don’t have a Take Back the Tap campaign on your campus, get one started! Get in touch with John Aspray for more info (jaspray@fwwatch.org) or sign up here: fwwat.ch/LearnMoreTBTT.

If you already have a Take Back the Tap campaign, consider how this contest can help you gain campus visibility, recruit new volunteers and move the decision-makers on your campus to act.

Once you start a Take Back the Tap campaign, we can work with you to reach out to all the students that pledged support during Tap-a-palooza and help you build your campaign!

10

SECTION 6: SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS

A Few Tips for Social Media1. Whenever you post about the campaign, be sure to use the hashtag #TakeBacktheTap or

#Tapapalooza.

2. Share a call to action, like an upcoming on-campus event with members of your administration and/or campus or community leaders, and be sure to make it as easy as possible and provide plenty of notice so that students can join you.

3. Add any photos from your own Tap-a-palooza or Take Back the Tap organizing, or use any of these images.

4. Consider using our Facebook frame to add Tap-a-palooza to your Facebook profile.

5. Feel free to use or edit any of the posts below to broadcast the campaign on your campus.

6. Mark yourself as attending on our Facebook event and share pictures there too!

INSTAGRAMTag @foodandwaterwatch and your official university Instagram accounts!1. Hey [@CampusName]! Not only is bottled water more expensive, it’s energy-intensive,

wasteful, and poorly regulated. [School] students are asking you to commit to improving access to safe, clean drinking water. We are ready to #TakeBackTheTap. Help our campus win funding to improve public water infrastructure on our campus! Take the pledge today by texting “I <3 TAP” to 69866!

2. Access to clean water is a human right, but the bottled water industry spends millions on marketing to convince Americans that bottled water is healthier and more “pure” than tap water. Enough is enough! @CampusName is proud to be participating in #Tap-a-palooza, a national contest that helps students make their choice loud and clear: we choose tap water over expensive, wasteful bottled water! Everytime!Help us win the Tap-a-palooza contest so that @CampusName can win funding to improve public water infrastructure on our campus! Take the pledge today by texting “I <3 TAP” to 69866!

3. Hey! Don’t forget that #2 pencil today! Midterms are stressful enough, so we got you. ;) Here’s another #MidtermSurvival tip — bring a reusable water container and stop wasting your money on overpriced, poorly regulated plastic bottled water. Tap water is safe, regulated and saves you money! Do you pledge to reduce your bottled water use? Text “I <3 TAP” to 69866 to take the pledge!

4. Our @CampusName students deserve safe, clean, and public water — so we’re going to Take Back the Tap. Do you pledge to reduce your bottled water use? Text “I <3 TAP” to 69866 to take the pledge!

5. @CampusName students deserve the best education, policies and learning environment to grow in — that means the best water infrastructure too! Help our campus win $$$ and make it happen! We have the right to #TakeBackTheTap! Text “I <3 TAP” to 69866 to take the pledge!

11

SECTION 6: SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS (CONTINUED)

FACEBOOK1. Water is our most precious resource -- not a commodity for corporations to exploit for profit.

The bottled water industry has undermined our trust in tap water, but we aren’t fooled by their marketing ploys! Tap water has the lowest water and carbon footprint of any beverage. Our [[Campus Name]] deserves safe, clean, and public water — so we’re going to Take Back the Tap. Do you pledge to reduce your bottled water use? Text “I <3 TAP” to 69866 to take the pledge!

2. Help [[Your University]] win a nationwide competition to reduce our usage of bottled water to help the environment and fight greedy bottled water companies! Take the pledge to choose tap water! Text “I <3 TAP” to 69866 to take the pledge!

3. Think bottled water is cleaner and safer than tap water? Guess again. Not only is bottled water more expensive, it’s energy-intensive, wasteful, and poorly regulated. Our campus can commit to improving access to safe, clean drinking water -- but we can’t do it without YOU! Text “I <3 TAP” to 69866 to take the pledge and help [[Your University]] Take Back the Tap!

4. Access to clean water is a human right, but the bottled water industry spends millions on marketing to convince Americans that bottled water is healthier and cleaner than tap water. Enough is enough! [[Your University]] is proud to be participating in Tap-a-palooza, a month long national contest that lets students choose tap water over expensive, wasteful bottled water. Help us win the Tap-a-palooza contest so that [[Your University]] can win funding to improve public water infrastructure on our campus! Take the pledge today by texting “I <3 TAP” to 69866!

5. @CampusName students deserve the best education, policies and learning environment to grow in — that means the best water infrastructure too! Help our campus win $$$ and make it happen! We have the right to #TakeBackTheTap! Text “I <3 TAP” to 69866 to take the pledge!

6. As the weather gets warmer, it’s important to remember to stay hydrated. But that hydration does not have to come at the expense of our environment. Plastic waste from water bottles piles up in our landfills as only 1 out of 4 bottles is recycled. Together, we can take back the tap and reduce our plastic waste. Do you pledge to Take Back the Tap? Text “I <3 TAP” to 69866 to take the pledge!

TWITTERTag @foodandwater and your official university Twitter accounts!

1. #TapFact: Tap water has the lowest water and carbon footprint of any beverage! Reduce waste & emissions, #TakeBacktheTap!

2. #TapFact: enough energy is used in producing and transporting bottled water to fuel 1.5 million cars each year. #Tapapalooza

3. Help @(tag university) reduce our waste and stay hydrated. Take the pledge to #TakeBacktheTap today! Text “I <3 TAP” to 69866

4. @foodandwater’s Tap-a-palooza national contest is here! Help our campus win by pledging to drink tap water! Text “I <3 TAP” to 69866

Thanks everyone for helping make [XX university] number one and for contributing to our efforts to reduce bottled water on campus! (Plug in a weekly meeting or event you’re having)

SAMPLE CLASS RAP (Use this for making an announcement to a class or large group)

Introduction

Context

Problem

Solution

Action

Thank you

Hi everyone! I’m _______, and I’m working on getting rid of bottled water on our campus. We’re participating in Tap-a-palooza — a month-long contest among campuses across the country. If we win, we’ll get funding to help our campus improve access to public tap water! The contest is run by Food & Water Watch, a national environmental justice group that empowers students to cut ties with bottled water corporations.

Before I get started, I have a quick question: How many of you drink water?

That’s right, we all do. It’s a pretty fundamental need and a basic human right, according to the UN. We can’t live without it. But bottled water has become a booming industry — multinational corporations are profiting off of our most precious (and scarce) resource. And that’s a big problem.

Americans have bought into marketing efforts by the bottled water industry, which profits from the misconception that bottled water is healthier and more “pure” than tap water. In reality, bottled water is one of the least-regulated industries in the country, tested far less frequently than what comes out of our faucets. Many of the major bottled water brands are just tap water repackaged, marked up to thousands of times what tap water costs. Aquafina? Dasani? It’s all tap water. It’s also energy-intensive, and contributes to climate change. Millions of barrels of oil are used to produce and transport bottled water. Eventually, 3 out of every 4 water bottles will end up in a landfill, and ultimately, the plastic waste ends up in our waterways. All around, from start to finish, bottled water is a bad idea.

We envision a world free from corporate control of our most essential resource, where every person has access to safe, clean and public water. In order to help make this vision a reality, [XX college/university] is competing in the national Tap-a-palooza contest this spring. The campus that collects the most pledges to choose tap over bottled water will win funding to improve access to public water on their campus.

To win, we’re going to need everyone to take our their phone right now and take the pledge by texting “I <3 TAP” to 69866. Make sure to reply with your .edu email address to make it count toward our school’s total.

(walk them through the text-in pledge)

SAMPLE TABLING RAP(Use this for tabling or anytime you’re making an individual ask to take the pledge)

Hook Can you help [XX university] win a national competition by taking the pledge to choose tap water over bottled water?

Introduction Hi, my name is _______. Thanks for stopping!

Context Millions of U.S. consumers drink bottled water every year, in part because they think it’s safer or better than tap water. But the truth is, it’s a scam. Bottled water is not safer — it’s much more expensive and it hurts the environment. We need your pledge to help reduce bottled water at [XX university]. Your pledge will also help us win funding to improve access to public water on our campus.

Ask Will you help us win the Tap-a-palooza contest by pledging to choose tap over bottled water?

Thank you Thanks for pledging! [Plug in a weekly meeting or event you’re having]

Tap-a-palooza is a national contest to kick the bottled water habit on college campuses. The campus that collects the most pledges to choose tap over bottled water will win fund-ing to improve access to public water.

WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAFE, CLEAN AND PUBLIC WATER.

TEXT “I <3 TAP”

TO 69866 TO TAKE THE PLEDGETO CHOOSE TAP WATER

HELP US WIN THE NATIONAL TAP-A-PALOOZA CONTEST!

SPONSORED BY

Tap

-a-p

alo

oza

is a

na

tion

al c

on

test

to

kic

k th

e b

ott

led

w

ate

r ha

bit

on

co

lleg

e c

am

pu

ses.

Th

e c

am

pu

s th

at

co

llec

ts t

he

mo

st p

led

ge

s to

ch

oo

se t

ap

ove

r bo

ttle

d

wa

ter w

ill w

in fu

nd

ing

to

imp

rove

ac

ce

ss t

o p

ub

lic w

ate

r.

WE

HA

VE

TH

E R

IGH

T T

O S

AFE

, C

LEA

N A

ND

PUBLIC

WA

TER

.

TE

XT

“I <

3 T

AP

” TO

69

86

6

TO T

AK

E T

HE

PLE

DG

E T

O C

HO

OSE

TA

P W

AT

ER

HEL

P U

S W

IN T

HE

NA

TIO

NA

L TA

P-A

-PA

LOO

ZA

CO

NT

EST

!

SPO

NSO

RE

D B

Y

Tap

-a-p

alo

oza

is a

na

tion

al c

on

test

to

kic

k th

e b

ott

led

w

ate

r ha

bit

on

co

lleg

e c

am

pu

ses.

Th

e c

am

pu

s th

at

co

llec

ts t

he

mo

st p

led

ge

s to

ch

oo

se t

ap

ove

r bo

ttle

d

wa

ter w

ill w

in fu

nd

ing

to

imp

rove

ac

ce

ss t

o p

ub

lic w

ate

r.

WE

HA

VE

TH

E R

IGH

T T

O S

AFE

, C

LEA

N A

ND

PUBLIC

WA

TER

.

TE

XT

“I <

3 T

AP

” TO

69

86

6

TO T

AK

E T

HE

PLE

DG

E T

O C

HO

OSE

TA

P W

AT

ER

HEL

P U

S W

IN T

HE

NA

TIO

NA

L TA

P-A

-PA

LOO

ZA

CO

NT

EST

!

SPO

NSO

RE

D B

Y