TRENTON – With prom and graduation season right around the corner, the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) today announced the winner of its “Proms and Alcohol Don’t Mix” public service announcement contest, which formally kicks off the agency’s annual push to warn high school students of the dangers of underage drinking.
The 30-second commercial was written by Woodstown High School Students Jay Ariza, Reid Truett and Austin Counsellor. The piece will run throughout the spring on cable and local television stations and will be streamed on the web via various social media platforms and the Division’s website.
“No one can better communicate to a teenager the dangers of underage drinking like a peer, that is why year after year, we put our efforts behind this contest,” said Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control Director Michael Halfacre. “Judging the entries is always enjoyable because of the diversity of ideas, which reflects the diversity of the state itself. We were once again faced with a tough choice, but believe that our winners were deserving and their messages effective.”
The winners’ script was judged best among the 52 submissions in January by a panel comprised of senior ABC staff, media specialists and teen substance abuse advocates. A production team from Rutgers University went on-site to Woodstown High School in February to shoot the spot.
The PSA features Woodstown students trying to combine things that don’t mix, like orange juice in cereal, football players using a soccer ball and wearing a tux with sandals. Before these unnatural pairings can be completed, other students intervene with lines like “dude, those definitely don’t mix.”
The consequences of mixing alcohol with proms and graduation festivities can include emotional and legal ramifications, Halfacre said. Possession of alcohol while under the legal age is a disorderly person’s offense, and penalties could include fines of at least $500 as well as a six-month suspension of a driver’s license.
The winners and other distinguished entrants will be honored by the Department of Law and Public Safety and Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control on May 20 at the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton.
To view the PSA, visit the ABC’s web site.
1st Runner Up -
- Overbrook High School, Pine Hill
James D’Autrechy, Brittany McHorney, Rachel Scolari, Alyssa Monetti, Rubi Lopez and Dajona Chism-Lindsey
2nd Runner Up- (tie)
- Montville Township High School, Montville
Jessica Messina and Christian Ro
- Central Regional High School, Bayville
Kyle Maslen
Honorable Mention
- Essex County Vocational School, Newark
Wellington Gomez, Christian Coronel and Franchesa Martich
- Central Regional High School, Bayville
Michael Carnevale
- Point Pleasant Borough High School, Point Pleasant
Olivia Ferdon
- Pequannock Township High School, Pompton Plains
Jenelys Daniel
- Central Regional High School, Bayville
Evan Grossi
- Somerville High School, Somerville
Alex Bruskin, Kristin Schmitt, Anna Baker, Kelly Moran and Andy Morris
- Nutley High School, Nutley
Erin Toye
- Westfield High School, Westfield
Jeremy DeDea and Lizzie Fox
- Triton Regional High School, Runnemede
Jenny Choi and Seyma Kirca
#### |
