2019 Michigan Chronicle S.W.A.G. Awards OFFICIAL Rules
NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.
A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.
- OVERVIEW/CONTEST PERIOD: 2019 Michigan Chronicle S.W.A.G. (Students Wired for Achievement and Greatness) Awards (the “Contest”) starts on December 12, 2018 at 12:00 A.M. ET and ends March 15, 2019 at 11:59:59 P.M. ET (the “Submission Phase”). At the conclusion of the Submission Phase, as defined in Rule 3 below, there will be a “Judging Phase” which will take place in April. Potential winners will be contacted in May 2019 and the verified winners will be announced in an awards ceremony to be held in May 2019.
- ELIGIBILITY: The Contest is only open to eligible minority individuals who are sixteen (16) years of age or older and are legal residents of Metro Detroit who, as of the date of entry, winner confirmation and prize fulfillment, satisfy all of the following criteria (hereinafter referred to as “Contestants”):
- Are enrolled full-time and in good standing in grade 12 (or the equivalent) in either: a public school, a charter school, or private school located in metropolitan Detroit;
- Must be scheduled to graduate in the spring of 2019;
- Must have a minimum 2.5 grade point average (or the equivalent as determined by the Sponsor); and
- Must be in good community standing as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.The following individuals are not eligible to enter or win the Contest: (a) individuals who are officers, directors, employees, or independent contractors of (Real Times, Inc. d/b/a the Michigan Chronicle, Chemical Bank or any other program sponsor (collectively, “Sponsors”), their parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries(including, without limitation, Mercury Promotions & Fulfillment), or other individuals/entities associated with the Contest (the “Contest Entities”), (b) individuals who are a member of the household of any of the foregoing or (c) individuals who are an immediate family member (e.g. parent, sibling, step-parent, the “step” of each of the aforementioned, guardian, and their household members) of any of the foregoing.
- CONTEST REGISTRATION/SUBMISSION PHASE: During the Submission Phase, Contestants must log on to https://michiganchronicle.com/swagawards and register by following the online instructions including providing his/her birth date, valid email address, complete first and last name, complete street address (No P.O. Boxes allowed), home phone number, name of his/her high school and its complete street address, and school phone number. If Contestant is a minor, Contestant must have permission to participate in this Contest from their parent or legal guardian and by entering the parent agrees to be bound by these Official Rules.
- SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: A Submission consists of the registration information set forth in Rule 3 above and the following items which must be uploaded by the Contestant during the Submission Phase:
- Essay: An “Essay” of up 350-500 words describing his/her future goals around career and community which details how their current extra-curricular activity/community service is preparing him/her to succeed.
- Letter of Recommendation: One (1) “Letter of Recommendation” to highlight his/her integrity, community involvement and service efforts. Letter of Recommendation must come from a school or community organization or a partner of a school or community organization.A completed registration, Essay and the Letter of Recommendation are collectively referred to herein as a “Submission”.Limit: One (1) Submission per person.
- ESSAY’S LEGAL REQUIREMENTS: Each Essay must be the Contestant’s own original and accurate creation, created solely by that Contestant. Each Essay may not have been published previously or won any other contest, prize, or award, may not currently be submitted or under consideration in another promotion during the Submission Phase, and the right to submit it in the Contest must not be restricted. Each Essay must not invade or defame the publicity rights or privacy of any person, living or deceased, or otherwise infringe upon any person’s personal or proprietary rights; nor may it mention the name, trademark, or logo of any manufacturer, business, brand, product, company, or character not owned by Sponsor. Sponsor reserves the right, at any time, to require satisfactory proof that the Contestant has obtained consent from any person(s) or entity who may reasonably claim that their privacy or publicity rights have been or will be violated by submission or use of an Essay. No reproduced, illegible, incoherent, incomplete, offensive, or distasteful Essay will be accepted. Similarly, Essays may not contain, mention, refer, or otherwise allude to any obscene, lewd, violent, illegal, offensive, disparaging, or inappropriate words, abbreviations, language, signs, products, symbols, political, personal and/or religious references, or statements (including, but not limited to, words that are widely considered offensive to individuals of a certain race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic group); promote alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, or firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing); promote any activities that may appear unsafe or dangerous; or promote any particular political agenda or message. Non-complying or incomplete Essays will be disqualified. By entering, each Contestant agrees that he/she will not bring any claim, action, or proceeding of any kind or nature against Sponsor or the Contest Entities. Sponsor is not responsible for typographical errors, omitted words, or any other errors in any Essay.
- JUDGING: During the Judging Phase in April all eligible Submissions will be judged by a panel of qualified judges determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion (the “Judges”) will select the potential winners. The Judges will score each Submission according to the following weighted judging criteria (collectively, “Judging Criteria”):
- Uniqueness of the Contestant’s Story in the Essay: 50% of the total score.
- Clarity and grammar of the Essay: 30% of the total score.
- Reference letters: 20% of the total score.The Contestant whose Submission receives the highest score from the Judges will be deemed the potential “Grand Prize” winner. The two (2) Contestants whose Submission receives the second and third highest scores from the Judges will be deemed the potential “First Prize” winners. The five (5) Contestants whose Submission receives the fourth-eighth highest score from the Judges will be deemed the potential “Second Prize” winners. The five (5) Contestants whose Submission receives the nineth-thirteenth highest scores from the Judges will be deemed a potential “Third Prize” winner.In the event of a tie, the tied Submissions will be reviewed by the Judges and the Submission with the highest score in “Uniqueness of the Contestant’s Story in the Essay” will be used as a tie breaker. If there is still a tie, the Submission with the highest score in “Clarity and Grammar of the Essay” will be used as a tie breaker. Each potential winner is subject to review of eligibility and confirmation of their compliance with these Official Rules. Decisions of the Judges are final and binding.
- PRIZES (13): Each prize set forth below is to be used as a scholarship to pay for the potential winner’s university, college, trade or vocational school education:
- Grand Prize (1): The Grand Prize is a check in the amount of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000) made payable to the university, college, trade or vocational school where the Grand Prize winner will attend.
- First Prize (2): The First Prize is a check in the amount of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000) made payable to the university, college, trade or vocational school where the First Prize winner will attend.
- Second Prize 5): The Second Prize is a check in the amount of Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000) made payable to the university, college, trade or vocational school where the Second Prize winner will attend.
- Third Prizes (5): Each Third Prize is a check in the amount of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000) made payable to the university, college, trade or vocational school where each Third Prize winner will attend.
The Approximate Retail Value of all prizes in this Contest is $35,000. No more than thirteen (13) prizes will be awarded as set forth in this Section 7.
- NOTIFICATIONS TO THE WINNERS AND REQUIREMENTS TO CLAIM PRIZE: The potential winners will be notified by email and/or telephone in May 2017 and will be required to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility/Liability/Publicity Release (the “Affidavit”) and provide a copy of his/her transcript from the most recent completed semester ending on or around December 2018. At the sole discretion of the Sponsor, disqualification, forfeiture and the selection of an alternate winner may result from any of the following: (a) the e-mail notification sent by Sponsor is returned as undeliverable after three (3) attempts; (b) the potential winner’s failure to provide Sponsor with satisfactory proof of eligibility requirement; and (c) potential winner’s, or if the winner is a minor his/her parent/legal guardian’s, failure to execute and return a fully completed Affidavit, within ten (10) calendar days from the date the form is sent to the potential winner. Federal, state, and local taxes and all other expenses not specified herein are each winner’s sole responsibility. Potential winners may be required to provide a valid driver’s license or other valid identification as deemed acceptable by Sponsor. In the event that a potential winner is disqualified for any reason or does not accept a prize, Sponsor, in its sole and absolute discretion, may award the prize to the Submission with the next-highest overall score based on the Judging Criteria, subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules.Winners, or the parent/legal guardian, if a winner is a minor, of the Grand Prize, First Prize, Second Prize and Third Prize, will be issued a Form 1099 in the amount of the actual retail value of the prize. All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply. Contestants should regularly check their spam filters to ensure they do not contain any Contest notification emails.
- GRANT OF RIGHTS: By acceptance of a prize, each winner unconditionally assigns and transfers to Sponsor all rights, title, and interest including, without limitation, copyright and other intellectual property interests, in whole and in part, which he/she now has or may in the future have to the submitted Essays and/or any element(s) therein including, without limitation, its use for advertising, publicity, promotion, or in commerce and in any and all media worldwide without limitation and without additional payment or consideration to any person or entity. Sponsor shall have the right to edit, modify, publish, use, alter, assign, transfer, or dispose of each Essay however it sees fit without approval of the Contestant. Each winner agrees that his/her personal information may be used in connection with the Contest and Sponsor may use the name and/or likeness of each winner, worldwide in any medium, without limitation, for advertising/promotion purposes without additional compensation as allowed by law. Additionally, each winner irrevocably grants Sponsor and its affiliates, legal representatives, assigns, agents, and licensees, the unconditional, unlimited, and perpetual right and permission to reproduce, encode, store, copy, transmit, publish, post, broadcast, display, publicly perform, adapt, exhibit, and/or otherwise use or reuse each Essay (in its original form or as edited/modified in any way by Sponsor, in its sole discretion), as well as to use (or not use) it or any portion of it in any and all media without limitation, worldwide and throughout perpetuity, without additional compensation, notice to, or approval from a winner or any other party. Furthermore, each winner agrees that each of his/her Essays will be deemed a Work Made For Hire under the Copyright laws of the United States, but if it cannot be so deemed, then the winner irrevocably assigns and transfers to Sponsor all of his/her right, title, and interest in and to his/her Essays, including, but not limited to, all copyright and trademark rights which he/she may have, in the United States and worldwide, therein, for valid consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged. Each winner hereby waives in favor of Sponsor, all rights of “Droit Moral” or “Moral Rights of Authors” or any other intellectual property rights, privacy/publicity rights, or similar rights or principles of law that he/she may now or later have to his/her Essays that might limit or preclude Sponsor’s use of the respective Essays and agrees not to sue or assert any claim against Contest Entities arising out of or connected to the use of the Essays. EACH CONTEST WINNER REPRESENTS, UNDERSTANDS, AND ACKNOWLEDGES THAT NEITHER HE/SHE NOR ANY THIRD PARTY WILL BE PAID FOR OR RECEIVE ANY FORM OF COMPENSATION OR ROYALTY IN EXCHANGE FOR GRANTING SPONSOR THESE RIGHTS OR FOR ANY SUBSEQUENT USE OF SUCH ESSAYS BY SPONSOR, OTHER THAN THE PRIZE DESCRIBED IN RULE 7 ABOVE.
- INTERNET/LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY: Contest Entities are not responsible for illegible, lost, late, incomplete, stolen, misdirected, postage due, or undeliverable, email or postal mail; or for any computer, telephone, satellite, cable, network, electronic, or Internet hardware or software malfunctions, failures, connections, or availability, or garbled, corrupt, or jumbled transmissions, service provider/Internet/web site/use net accessibility, availability, or traffic congestion, or any typographical, mechanical, or technical error, or unauthorized human intervention, or the incorrect or inaccurate capture of registration information, or the failure to capture, or loss of, any such information. Contest Entities are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by website users, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest, and assume no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, typographical or technical error, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to any website(s). Contest Entities are not responsible for any injury or damage, whether personal or property, to participants or to any person’s computer related to or resulting from participating in the Contest. If, for any reason, the Contest is not capable of running as planned, Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest or any portion of the Contest and/or proceed with the Contest in a manner deemed fair and appropriate by Sponsor, including selection of winners from among eligible entries received prior to such cancellation, termination, modification, or suspension. IN NO EVENT WILL THE CONTEST ENTITIES BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST OR ACCEPTANCE OF ANY PRIZE. SPONSOR MAKES NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NONINFRINGEMENT AS TO ANY PRIZE OR ANY COMPONENT OF ANY PRIZE. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any individual found, in its sole opinion, to be tampering with the operation of the Contest or any portion of the Contest, to be acting in violation of these Official Rules, or to be acting with the intent to disrupt the normal operation of the Contest or any portion of the Contest. Any use of robotic, automatic, macro, programmed, third party, or like methods to participate in the Contest will void any attempted participation effected by such methods and the disqualification of the individual utilizing the same. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF the CONTEST IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS. SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES OR OTHER REMEDIES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON(S) RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ATTEMPT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
- PRIVACY POLICY: Any personally identifiable information collected during a Contestant’s participation in the Contest will be collected and used by Sponsor, its affiliates, agents, and marketers for purposes of the proper administration and fulfillment of the Contest as described in these Official Rules and in accordance with the Privacy Policy as stated at https://michiganchronicle.com/43583-2/ or as otherwise expressly consented to by a Contestant during any separate opt-in opportunity provided to Contestant during entry into the Contest. If a Contestant does not fully agree to the terms of the Privacy Policy, such Contestant should not provide any personal information on the website or enter the Contest.
- PUBLICITY RIGHTS: Each Contestant who submits a winning Submission agrees to allow Sponsor and/or Sponsor’s designee the perpetual right to use his/her name, photos, and/or likeness, and statements for promotion, trade, commercial, advertising, and publicity purposes, at any time or times, in all media now known or hereafter discovered, worldwide, including, but not limited to, on the World Wide Web and Internet, without notice, review, or approval and without additional compensation except where prohibited by law.
- RELEASE: By participating in the Contest, each Contestant and their parent/legal guardian if Contestant is a minor, hereby release and agree to indemnify and hold harmless Contest Entities and their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, and representatives from and against any and all costs, claims, damages, or any other injury, whether due to negligence or otherwise, to person(s) or property (including, without limitation, death or violation of any personal rights, such as violation of right of publicity/privacy, libel, or slander), due, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, to participation in the Contest or arising out of participation in any Contest.
- DISPUTES: THIS CONTEST IS GOVERNED BY, AND WILL BE CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH, THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, AND THE FORUM AND VENUE FOR ANY DISPUTE SHALL BE IN THE COUNTY OF WAYNE, MICHIGAN. IF THE CONTROVERSY OR CLAIM IS NOT OTHERWISE RESOLVED THROUGH DIRECT DISCUSSIONS OR MEDIATION, IT SHALL THEN BE RESOLVED BY FINAL AND BINDING ARBITRATION ADMINISTERED BY THE AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITS ARBITRATION RULES AND PROCEDURES OR SUBSEQUENT VERSIONS THEREOF (“AAA RULES”). THE AAA RULES FOR SELECTION OF AN ARBITRATOR SHALL BE FOLLOWED, EXCEPT THAT THE ARBITRATOR SHALL BE EXPERIENCED AND LICENSED TO PRACTICE LAW IN MICHIGAN. ALL PROCEEDINGS BROUGHT PURSUANT TO THIS PARAGRAPH WILL BE CONDUCTED IN WAYNE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. THE REMEDY FOR ANY CLAIM SHALL BE LIMITED TO ACTUAL DAMAGES, AND IN NO EVENT SHALL ANY PARTY BE ENTITLED TO RECOVER PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING ATTORNEY’S FEES OR OTHER SUCH RELATED COSTS OF BRINGING A CLAIM, OR TO RESCIND THIS AGREEMENT OR SEEK INJUNCTIVE OR ANY OTHER EQUITABLE RELIEF. ANY DEMAND FOR ARBITRATION MUST BE FILED WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR OF THE TIME THE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUED, OR THE CAUSE OF ACTION SHALL BE FOREVER BARRED.Further, each Contestant and their parent/legal guardian if Contestant is a minor, hereby waive all rights, to: (i) claim punitive, exemplary, special, incidental, indirect and consequential damages and any other damages (whether due to negligence or otherwise), other than for actual out of pocket costs; and (ii) have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. Contestants agree that the rights and obligations of any Contestant and/or Contest Entities and/or any other party shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action.
- GENERAL: In the event of a dispute as to the identity of the winning Contestant, the identity shall be determined by the Sponsor based on the authorized account holder (determined at the time the Submission is submitted) of the e-mail address used to make the Submission. The “authorized account holder” is defined as the natural person who is assigned an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the e-mail address used to make the Submission. Each Contestant may be required to show proof of being an authorized account holder. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any Contestant and/or Submission in its sole and absolute discretion. All pertinent federal laws and laws of the State of Michigan shall apply. All Contest Submissions become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned. Void in all jurisdictions other than the State of Michigan and wherever prohibited by law.
- WINNERS LIST: To obtain the names of the winners, send a properly stamped, self-addressed envelope to: 2018 Michigan Chronicle S.W.A.G. Awards Winners List, 1452 Randolph St. Suite 400 by June 30, 2019.
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