Roberto Clemente Team Wins Prize for Teen Dating Violence PSA

students Mirabella Roberts, Julian Avenilla, Jean-Young Kim and Daniel Arze have been named the first-place winners in a contest to create a Public Service Announcement (PSA) about teen dating violence, Montgomery County officials announced Monday. 

The team received a $1,000 cash prize from Verizon Wireless for “It’s Never Fine,” which depicted the anguish a young person in an abusive dating relationship experiences as she considers disclosing the abuse to a friend.

The “Choose Respect Montgomery Teen Dating Public Service Announcement Contest,” co-sponsored by Verizon Wireless and Montgomery County’s Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, challenged teens in grades 7-12 to portray an element of teen dating abuse and be relevant to teens. The inclusion of a national or local dating abuse hotline number was also encouraged. 

More than 15 entries were submitted.

Second place in the contest was an entry created by Sherwood High School students Cesar Martinez and Cara Dekelbaum. They won a $750 prize from Verizon Wireless for their PSA that portrays the escalation of dating abuse from extreme possessiveness that ultimately evolves to physical abuse in order to gain control.  

Roberto Clemente Middle School student Valencia Fu won the $500 third prize from Verizon Wireless for creating a slide production that subtlety reveals that both genders can be victims of abuse. It also exhibits that dating abuse significantly and negatively impacts one's self-esteem.

The contestants will be recognized on Saturday, March 24, at the third annual “Choose Respect Montgomery Teen Dating Conference” at the Cultural Arts Center of the Takoma Park campus of Montgomery College. For details on the free conference and to register, go to http://bit.ly/o8j01