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Each fall, the on-campus environmental student group, Environmental Consciousness Outreach (ECO) and the Eco-Representatives with TCI support and sponsorship, is holding a competition for residential halls on the Medford campus to reduce energy usage during a month-long period each fall semester.

ECO and TCI focus on getting student attention focused on simple things they could do to save energy. The contest is widly publicised with flyers, chalking, posters, adds in the school's newspaper. etc. ECO and TCI hand out stickers, glow-in-the-dark condoms, and flyers with tips on how to save energy, for example:

What You Can Do to SAVE ENERGY:

TURN OFF YOUR LIGHTS when you leave your room
Turn off your computer monitors
when you aren't using your computer or 15 minutes or more
Trade in your light bulbs for fluorescent bulbs that last up to 10 TIMES LONGER

Turn off your computer when you aren't using it for an hour or more
(NO, IT DOES NOT WASTE MORE ENERGY RESTARTING IT), or at least turn it off overnight.

TCI and ECO also hand out compact fluorescent bulbs to students. During the last couple of years, over 3000 bulbs were given out to students and faculty. Read more!

The contest focuses on competition among dorms, inspiring students to save more energy than other students. Electricity usage is monitored throughout the month-long contest, with the help of the Tufts Energy Manager, Betsy Isenstein, and Tufts facilities staff.

TCI helps plan the event, designs and produces promotional materials and helps evaluate the results after the contest. Some student comments included:

"Signs in the bathrooms asking people to turn off lights were very effective. Students said they felt like the signs gave them permission and otherwise they feel like the lights must be on for a reason and they're not allowed to turn them off. One student said that she felt that "she didn't have any authority outside of her room."
"Students mostly think about saving energy in terms of saving money, not in terms of 'saving the environment.'"

"Students think about turning off lights to save energy but not about turning off computers."

After the contest period, ECO determins the results of the month-long program. The winning dorm is treated to a party with free pizza, entertainment, and prizes.