IT STARTS AT HOME, WINS VIDEO AWARD

Hugh Boyd secondary tapeheads Tyler Hagan, Adam Clyne and Craig Nider
wanted to make a video, so when the chance came to produce one for the Fill
in the Blank Drugs and Gang Conference, they leaped at the opportunity.

The result was It Starts At Home, a short film about a teen who starts
using marijuana because he feels estranged from his family.

It took home the $500 first prize Saturday from more than 20 entries, all
with an anti-drug message, all produced by high school students.

Though the teens were happy with the way the video turned out - everything
fit together, says Nider, and every scene was the perfect length - the
result was a surprise. Not a surprise on Saturday, mind you, but in
December, when a Hugh Boyd teacher first notified Nider of the video's success.

"I didn't believe him," Nider recalled. "I kind of pushed him over."

Clyne, who with Nider wants to enter the video production program at
Capilano College, said the teens were interested in doing a video about
teen drug use. "It's something that teens can relate to, because it's all
around," Hagan said.

Clyne added, "It can be avoided, but sometimes it's easy (for teens) to go
with it."

An untitled piece from Burnett secondary school, created by Benjamin
Cheung, Elaine Chau, Michelle Koo, Jeff Lam and Judy Wan, received the $300
second prize. Hedy Li, Mason Tang, Kit Kong and Sherona Cheung take home
$200 for their third place video, You Can't Have Both.

"This was really one of our first tries at doing this kind of video
production," said Elaine Chau, who worked on the second place video. "We
enjoyed it thoroughly. The best part was spending so much time with friends
and putting our heads together and coming up with something creative and
meaningful."

Most of the teens interviewed agreed that while drug dealers don't solicit
them at school, drugs are available.

"(If students want drugs), they would know where to go," said Burnett
secondary student Harry Luk. "And it's like that in every high school."

The Enoch Youth Outreach Society is hosting an anti-drug parents' forums in
Richmond 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday at Richmond secondary school, located at
7171 Minoru Blvd.

Guest speakers include local health and social services workers.