A group of students from the School of Communications recently competed in a public service announcement contest and won seven out of the 10 awards given out.

The contest was held in conjunction with the Eastern Video and Animation Festival May 7 at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, Conn. The Wine and Spirits Wholesalers sponsored the contest, in which students from Connecticut colleges and universities were asked to write and produce an original public service announcement on the dangers of underage drinking in the state.

There were 38 entries from five Connecticut universities including ECSC, Central Connecticut State University, Southern Connecticut State University, Sacred Heart University and Quinnipiac. The top 10 PSA's received festival awards; the top three received an additional cash award; and the top entry will air on WVIT in Hartford.

Two teams from Quinnipiac garnered two second-place prizes in a tie. The team "Sumby Allstars" included juniors Latiya Perkins, Alex Clarke and Katie Checca, and the team "Triforce" included seniors Neil Rogers and Naren Kelso. Both teams received a $1,500 check and each student received an engraved trophy.

Other School of Communications students chosen for the top 10 were sophomore Matthew Andrew, junior Matt Bernabeo, sophomore Keith Bevacqua, junior Christina Cimino, sophomore Matthew Galo, junior Janelle Gonzalez, junior Amanda Kammler, sophomore Kevin Kusina, junior Adam McCaughey, junior Chris Metcalfe and sophomore Justin Schussler.

The students were enrolled in MEP 212: Fundamentals of Production II and MEP 345: Writing and Producing Media.

From left to right: Neil Rogers, Naren Kelso, Chris Metcalfe, Justin Schussler, Keith Bevacqua, Matt Andrew, Latiya Perkins, Kevin Kusina, Katie Checca, Alex Clarke and Christina Cimino.