The Day She Said Goodbye
/
Lost River Junior-Senior High School senior Katelyn Dever and freshman Osiries Watson were among four students who produced a video last spring to bring awarenss to the impact of bullying and self-harm. The video won Lost River a $500 award in an Oregon State Police SafeOregon PSA video contest.
Lost River students win OSP’s SafeOregon PSA video contest
Even though she was just acting, it was hard for Katelyn Dever to act like a bully.
“It felt so wrong,” the Lost River senior said as she recalled slamming classmate Mariah Manzo into a locker, pushing her down to the floor and kicking her. Her actions were part of a scene in an award-winning video she and three classmates produced to bring awareness to the impact of bullying.
Dever, Osiries Watson, Mariah Manzo and Cheyenne Ruff last spring produced the 2-minute, 33-second video, “The Day She Said Goodbye,” as a public service announcement (PSA) for the Oregon State Police SafeOregon program. They entered the video in a PSA contest to encourage teenagers to use SafeOregon (https://www.safeoregon.com) to confidentially share information about threats or potential threats to student safety, including bullying, harassment and self-harm.
Earlier this month, Dever and Osiries accepted a $500 check from SafeOregon for their school for winning second place in the statewide contest. (Ruff and Manzo moved from the Lost River area and no longer attend the high school.) The PSA will be used by SafeOregon to assist with outreach.
The girls decided to create the video after business teacher Rafael Hernandez told his classes about the contest.
“I am very proud of them,” said Hernandez, who encouraged the girls as they worked on the project. “(The topic) hit home for one of the girls. She didn’t tell me what she went through, and I didn’t ask. Bullying, it’s around, and there are a lot of kids who deal with it.”
Hernandez had already showed his classes the video the girls created; the entire student body watched it Wednesday.
“The Day She Said Goodbye” is an intense look into the mind of a high school girl being bullied by classmates. The girl self-harms by cutting her arms and eventually writes a goodbye note and attempts suicide. The video’s message includes self-harm statistics and the number to the suicide hotline.
Dever and Osiries said they both know teenagers who self-harm, and they hope their video will force young people to think about the impact and consequences of their words and actions on others.
“It’s definitely an eye opener to some people because they don’t realize the impact of what they say or do to others,” Dever said. Osiries added: “Words can hurt people. They may be abused at home and then come to school and it happens here. There’s no safe place for them.”
“People get to the point where they think there’s no other option,” Dever said. Lost River Principal Jamie Ongman said the school will use the award money to promote positive behaviors and social service programs.
“The girls were very thoughtful and very intuitive, and you could tell it was near and dear to their heart with the subject matter,” he said.
“They produced a video that would be long-lasting and impactful for an entire state. For four girls to take that initiative, shows a lot about their maturity level and their passion.”
Press release provided from the Klamath County School District.
Lost River Junior-Senior High School students Osiries Watson and Katelyn Dever hold the $500 check their video won for Lost River Junior-Senior High School.