The Escape Vape Video Challenge, a youth vaping prevention contest, is a way for students attending middle schools and high schools throughout Minnesota to participate in making a video on why vaping in school is bad and how it is harmful. There is a cash prize for whoever is voted as having the best video, and students at Park are able to participate in this challenge.
According to junior Max Olson, this challenge won’t have an effect on students, or anyone for that matter, to stop vaping. He said this is not productive and that there are better ways at attacking this issue, and he believes the only reason why students would participate in this challenge is for the cash prize.
“I would probably not participate in this challenge. I obviously do not encourage vaping at all, but I don’t believe that this challenge will really make any significant impact on the change of kids vaping at school or just vaping in general,” Olson said. “I do not believe that it is proactive, and I believe that most kids would just make a video solely for the cash prize and not care about what the message actually is.”
Social studies teacher Emma Engebretson said this challenge can be really effective in getting kids to understand the main facts of what vaping is and the consequences of it. According to Engebretson, this is a fun challenge with a prize to get kids motivated to do something that is getting a message out there that is very important.
“I believe that this challenge will be very effective. It’s dependent on student engagement because it’s directed for students to be the main focus of this challenge,” Engebretson said. “Also, having a prize for this challenge can make more students motivated to make a video, which will ultimately spread more awareness on this subject.”
Junior Adam Rosvold said this challenge will be very beneficial to students who have not vaped before, giving them even more reinforcement on why they should not be vaping, and can also make students who have vaped have the realization that what they are doing is very harmful.
“(It helps) people who haven’t started (vaping) before to make sure they’re educated,” Rosvold said. “Some people who are vaping could use this information to be able to understand how they should not be doing it and seek help to try to ultimately quit vaping.”
According to Olson, vaping at school is a problem that is really hard to fix. He said the school does not do a good job of taking this issue seriously and sees this more as a disciplinary issue.
“I mean, the reality of it is (that) you’re never going to get kids to stop vaping, but kids shouldn’t be vaping in school. I think it’s a disciplinary problem,” Olson said. “I think when people go into the bathroom and get busted smoking, it shouldn’t just be a slap on the wrist. It should be a serious consequence, and you probably shouldn’t be at school if this issue keeps on happening.”
Rosvold said he does see a major issue in students vaping at Park, most commonly in the bathrooms in large groups of kids.
“(It’s) definitely a large problem. The people in in the bathrooms and other small hallways that are vaping (are) people who do it and don’t understand the the long term effects that it has on them,” Rosvold said. “It’s a problem, we don’t want to know what happens a few years from now.”
Engebretson said she believes that this is a great method of getting the message of vaping through a fun video contest with a cash prize, which is a very good incentive for students to participate.
“I think it’s exciting that it’s a prize,” said Engebretson. “It’s a contest, and there are winners that are announced, so that might increase the participation and engagement with the project, especially since they’re kids, this contest aligns more for them.”
The Escape the Vape Challenge started on Feb. 1 and participants can submit content until Feb. 29. The submitted videos will then be voted on, and after all the rounds have finished the winners will be announced on May 7.
