An Atlantic City High School student’s public service announcement was awarded by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.
Kelly Maldonado wrote and directed the 96-second video about the dangers of cyberbullying that won the Public Service Announcement portion of the 2018 Artists Alike Film Festival.
There are no words as fellow Atlantic City student Vanessa Mencia-Lopez sits on a bed scrolling social media. Then, the comment on a selfie start to pop up
“Eww straight disgrace to the human race,” “You should just drink bleach now,” “Your nose so big in this picture.”
With each comment, bruises begin popping up on the girl’s arms, face and neck.
“Posting hurtful comments in the virtual world can affect someone in the real word,” words on a blank screen say.
Nearly 43 percent of kids have been bullied online, with a quarter having it happen more than once, quotes the PSA.
https://youtu.be/k6uixtXOCyg
Oakcrest High School students Stephanie Emory, Taylor Thompson and Kaitlyn Scardino took a comedic tactic to tackle distracted driving — which captured them the runner-up spot.
The video begins with two students having had a fender-bender, then Thompson quotes a AAA poll in which 90 percent of teens said they know texting and driving is dangerous, but 35 percent admitting they still do it anyway.
“Nowadays putting your phone down can be very hard,” she says. “But it could be a simple task that could save your life.”
Then she cautions: “So before getting in your car, think twice before clipping your toenails, watching YouTube videos or looking up supercalifragilisticexpialidocious in the dictionary.”
Each scenario is accompanied by a student doing just that, in a parked car.
[gallery link="file" ids="7700,7698,7699"]
The video also shows how to go into your phones settings and set it to “do not disturb while driving.”
https://youtu.be/YEg7u4XfbdQ
The winners were announced at a Red Carpet Event at Dante Hall.
"The districts and high schools should be very proud of this project," the Prosecutor's Office said in making the announcement, "because we are hopeful that it will help educate students throughout the state about the perils of cyber bullying and distracted driving. "
