Students at Archbishop McCarthy High School in Southwest Ranches earned first and third place in the South Florida district in the statewide Discrimination Through the Eyes of Our Youth Public Service Announcement Contest.

The contest, hosted by the Florida Commission on Human Relations, invited students in grades 9-12 to create 25-second announcements on the topic of discrimination. Students submitted entries last school year, and winners were announced over the summer.

``They were very creative and heartfelt,'' Leah Barber-Heinz, public information director of the Florida Commission on Human Relations, said of the more than 40 school entries. ``It was equally sad because these issues are alive and well in schools around the state.''

First place for the South Florida district went to Liliana Garcia, Nicole Mcinnis, Chrystal Llanusa, Nicole Glick and Shanique Castro for their creative piece called Equality.

The clip shows a young black girl standing stoic in a school hallway, being shuffled around as she goes seemingly unnoticed by her peers. At the end of the service announcement, the girl's books are knocked out of her hands, and as she reaches to pick them up, a white hand extends out to help her.

During the video, discrimination statistics scroll down the screen. The announcement received the highest points of all videos from the four districts that competed.

The piece, said cinematography teacher Robin Gleason, was intended to demonstrate racial prejudice and how peer discrimination can be overcome.

The students came up with original ideas and acted and edited their own DVD entries. Students in Archbishop McCarthy's cinematography class submitted 11 entries.

``I think it was a really good opportunity and learning experience,'' Gleason said. ``It got a really important message out to high school kids.''

Third place went to Faby Moreau, Jessica Munoz, Liany Pacheao, Collette Conway, Rita Rubio and Chris Short for their video, Bullying, which shows a young man being shunned by peers in a high school setting. At the end he is invited to join a group. The clip, which also includes pertinent statistics, was designed to show how it feels to be an outcast and the negative effects that bullying can have on a person, Gleason said.

A group from Miami Senior High School won second place for their video, Love in Black and White.

Barber-Heinz said the winning videos are posted on the commission's website.

The contest, the first of its kind for the commission, was part of the organization's 40th anniversary campaign to raise awareness, Barber-Heinz said.

``We thought the PSA contest was a really good way to engage young people on the subject, while educating the public through PSAs.''

To learn more about the Florida Commission on Human Relations, and to view the winning PSAs, visit http://tinyurl.com/nmvguy

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