Students join battle against Internet pornography

"Don't Fall for the Mouse Trap."

That's the winning slogan from a statewide competition among Utah high school students to produce the best ad warning kids about the dangers of Internet pornography. The winners of the annual contest, which is sponsored by the advocacy group Communities for Decency, were announced Tuesday afternoon at the Capitol. First-place winner Phoebe Jarman from Diamond Fork High School in Spanish Fork will receive $500, and her ad will appear on a local billboard. Jarman said she hopes her winning entry will help young people to understand that "it only takes one small decision to get yourself trapped, and it's a trap that's very hard to get out of and very painful."

Second-place winner Josh Meyer will get $300, and third-place winner Melinda Black will get $200. Both Meyer and Black attend San Juan High School in Blanding.

Meyer said he got involved in the contest after school counselors told him about it during art class. He said he wanted to "tell people how dangerous the Internet is and to be careful."

Communities for Decency President Cindy Moreno talked about the long odds modern parents face trying to protect their families from pornography with the rapid proliferation of new communication mediums like the Internet and cell phones.

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said the country is in the midst of a "moral crisis" and thanked the winners for doing their part to help.

"You will save lives because of your creativity and your part in this project," Shurtleff told them.

Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, said it sometimes seems as if today's kids don't really care about anything and praised the winners for showing that they do.

"This gives me hope for the future," he said. Wimmer, describing his work in law enforcement for the past decade, said he had "never dealt with a sex offender who didn't start in pornography."

E-MAIL: dservatius@desnews.com