Calling on the filmmaking talents of some of New York City’s best college students, the Responsibility Campaign - a coalition of elected officials, community boards, local bar owners, and university officials in lower Manhattan - today announced a competition to create 30-second “shorts” to be used as public service announcements (PSA) to combat underage drinking.
The competition is open to students from NYU, Cooper Union, and the New School. Submissions are due December 1, 2008; winners will be announced at an awards luncheon on Friday, January 23, 2009. Entries will be judged by a panel composed of elected officials, medical experts, and university officials. The top prize is $1000, and the PSAs will be shown on NYU’s TV system.
The Responsibility Campaign was created in 2006 in response to community concerns about nightlife safety and underage drinking in lower Manhattan bars; it has been working with local nightlife owners to develop a “Good Neighbor Guidelines” and partnered with them proactively to deter underage and binge drinking. The idea for a contest to produce PSAs came after consultation with students.
Gary Parker, Director of NYU’s Office of Government and Community Affairs and spokesman for the Responsibility Campaign, said “If you want real creativity and you want a genuine voice to capture the attention of college-age men and women, there is no greater resource than the smart, energetic, talented young people in our colleges and universities. Underage drinking is a national problem; here in lower Manhattan, we are pursuing a local solution by forming an alliance among bar owners, elected officials, community board members, and universities to reduce its prevalence.”
Members of the Responsibility Campaign include Cooper Union, The New School, New York University, Speaker Christine Quinn, Councilmember Rosie Mendez, State Senator Tom Duane, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, The Office of the Mayor, and, NYPD Sixth and Ninth Precincts, Community Boards Two and Three and local nightlife establishments.