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Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Longwood Receives Most Votes in PSA Competition

 

Three recent Longwood graduates are frontrunners in a statewide contest. Kendall Beebe, Leigh Culpitt, and Max Duchaine, all '11, created a Public Service Announcement last semester entitled "It Only Takes One Night to Save a Life" as part of a competition held by The Governor's Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (GOSAP).

Governor Bob McDonnell announced the competition on February 1, 2011 at Virginia Commonwealth University, and college students from across the state submitted their videos.  He explained in his speech that "a lot of good ideas come from outside of the public safety system," and encouraged individuals to use their unique talents to make a difference in their community.

After learning about the competition from faculty members, the three students began to brainstorm ways in which they could use their talents to heed the governor's call. Working closely with Student Wellness Coordinator Sasha Gregory, the team developed a unique idea for their Public Service Announcement (PSA). Duchaine explained the team did not want to do a stereotypical PSA where statistics are read; they wanted to create something that would really get someone's attention, something that accurately reflected the situation.

The group also received help with their project from the Farmville Police Department. Officers helped them clear areas for filming and  handle any legal situations that might arise from the project.

The team met weekly to discuss their ideas and concepts, and then went over it several times with Gregory. They then filmed the 30-second PSA in two days and spent considerable time editing it. "We worked right up until the final week of school," Duchaine explained. The video was completed in time for the May 1 deadline and submitted to GOSAP.

The video shows a typical night of partying through a student's point of view. The student takes a shot, then sees another with alcohol poisoning, and is involved in verbal and physical fights. The video ends in a car accident. Then the only words in the PSA appear: "One night could change your life."

According to several Longwood students, what the group created was something unique. "It was very interesting," said freshman Ches Bono, who responded to President Patrick Finnegan's e-mail and watched the video. "It was well done overall and actually engaging."

"The video from Longwood definitely hit closer to home," said another student. "The others mainly listed statistics."

The group, along with two other groups from Virginia Intermont College and Wytheville Community College, was announced as a finalist in the competition. Voting began August 2.  

Last Friday, Finnegan sent out an e-mail to all students, informing them of the contest. "The public service announcement created by three Longwood students needs your help and your votes," wrote Finnegan.  The PSA ended today at 5 p.m. and Longwood is in second place by 175 votes to Wytheville Community College."

Longwood students responded in force. Even before the president's message, students had been sharing the video on sites like Twitter and Facebook as a way of supporting their fellow Lancers.

"I wasn't surprised as much as I was flattered and proud of my Alma mater," said Duchaine of the support his team received from the Longwood community.

Shortly before voting closed, the results showed Longwood winning the competition with 2,923 votes and 44 percent. In second place was Wytheville Community College with 2,534 votes and 38 percent of the tally. The official winner will be announced September 20. If Longwood wins, McDonnell will be on campus to take part in a recognition ceremony.