NWDA announces that Ware Junior/Senior High School wins White Ribbon Campaign student music video PSA contest
Ware Junior/Senior High School wins White Ribbon Campaign to end violence against women PSA contest
The Office of Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan is pleased to announce that Ware Junior/Senior High School is the winner of the White Ribbon Campaign to end violence against women video PSA contest.
Ten area high schools and four colleges participated in the White Ribbon Campaign this year, distributing 4,200 white ribbons and taking the pledge "never to commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women."
High schools participating in the first ever NWDA music video PSA contest included Ware Junior/Senior High School, Granby Junior-Senior High School and Franklin County Technical School. All three videos can be seen on the Northwestern District Attorney’s YouTube page at http://www.youtube.com/user/NWDAMass?feature=mhee
“We couldn’t be more pleased with the students’ powerful and heartfelt PSA’s,” Sullivan said. “We’re hoping to build upon the success of this year’s campaign in years to come.”
A panel of judges voted to award the Ware students the top prize of $100 to be used to further the anti-domestic violence campaign, because of the PSA’s clear link to the White Ribbon Campaign and the effective way the message of anti-violence was conveyed.
Sullivan and Mary Kociela, Director of Domestic Violence Projects for the NWDA, will present the Ware students with a check at Ware High School, on April 25.
The judges were also impressed by the original lyrics in the Granby Junior-Senior High School video and videography in the Franklin County Technical School submission.
“It’s exciting to see student participation from all parts of the district and the personal approach students have taken in making the videos and in taking the white ribbon pledge,” Kociela, who was one of the judges, said.
Betty Guetti, another judge, who is a domestic violence survivor, police trainer and speaker on the subject, said, “It’s great to have these young people show that they feel domestic and dating violence is wrong. It gives me hope for the future.”
The NWDA; Jane Doe, Inc. and organizations across the state support the 2012 White Ribbon Campaign, an international event established in 1989 after a gunman opened fire and killed 14 female engineering students in Montreal, Canada.
Contact: Mary Carey at mary.carey@state.ma.us or
Mary Kociela at mary.a.kociela@state.ma.us. (413) 774-3186 ext. 102