By Christina Steube

University of Mississippi

AT&T has challenged the University of Mississippi to compete against Mississippi State in the It Can Wait Virtual Reality Egg Bowl Online Pledge Competition, an effort to combat distracted driving.

Today, AT&T will bring a virtual reality simulator to the Ole Miss Student Union. Students, faculty and staff are invited to take the wheel of the 360-degree experience, which demonstrates the dangers of cellphone-distracted driving, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Associated Student Body and Student Activities Association encourage the Ole Miss community to take the pledge by texting ICWOleMiss to 50555. The university that collects the most pledges by Friday (Nov. 11) will be declared the ICW Virtual Reality Egg Bowl winner.

“The Egg Bowl is always an exciting and hard-fought competition, and we expect the It Can Wait pledge challenge to be just as hard-fought, with safety on the line,” said Mayo Flynt, AT&T Mississippi president. “Only one team will win the football game, but many more students and fans across our state will win much more by pledging to keep their eyes on the road, not on their phone.”

The ICW campaign, launched in 2010, has inspired more than 10 million people to keep their eyes on the road. This year, AT&T has taken the simulator to 299 cities across the country.