Warwick Veterans Students Create Award-Winning Media Campaign for Day One

Saturday, April 23, 2011

GoLocalProv Features Team

Day One announced the winners of the seventh annual Your Voice.Your View. media contest, which is focused on denouncing sexual violence among teens. Among the more than 800 students from 11 Rhode Island high schools who participated in the contest, three teams were honored for their work in directing and producing a 30-second television advertisement.

Warwick Veterans Memorial received first prize in this year’s competition. The school’s four-student team of Gregory Bennett, Rebecca Hurd, Kristen Hyle and Megan Merlino won for their TV ad entitled, “Faces.” The top team received a monetary prize and the opportunity to have their advertisement aired on major television networks such as FOX Providence and several and Cox cable stations throughout April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The winning ad can also be viewed here.

Educating teens on sexual violence and how to prevent it

“The Your Voice. Your View media contest has become a critical part of our effort to educate teens on sexual violence and how they can help prevent it,” said Peg Laghammer, executive director of Day One. “By having students create their own ads, the goal is that they will better understand the issue of sexual violence and incorporate what they’ve learned about it into their own lives.”

Second place in the media contest was awarded to St. Andrews School in Barrington. The ad entitled, “Speak Up; One Voice Can Make a Difference,” was developed by Myles Brilhante, Melissa Gemma, Miriam Okero, Jason Mahoney, Nick Cesare and Aleqs Gibson.

Additionally, Woonsocket Area Career and Technical Center received third place for its ad entitled, “Sexual Harassment Prevention.” The honored team included students Michael Ellis, Vanessa Norkham, Jenny Ounnarath, Michael Pimental and Randi Tessier.

Day One sponsors the annual Your Voice. Your View. media contest, which is funded by the Rhode Island Department of Health through a grant by the Centers of Disease Control (CDC), with the goal of helping teens understand how they can work together to end sexual violence in their interpersonal relationships.