The Arts & Humanities (A&H) department has awarded the first of several prizes in their Student Video contest. Joshua Gerard took the first place prize this week, winning $100 for his quick tennis match in “My Quarantine Story,” and Carrie Everson took second place with a $25 prize for her anti-boredom mashup, “Shelter In Place 2020.” The first deadline was March 31. A&H’s second round is this week, and the deadline is April 15th for new entries.

The A&H Student Video contest awards $100 for the best under-30-second video demonstrating imagination and creativity as a student during shelter in place. Runner ups will receive $25.

Many students who entered the contest, like Gerard, learned about it through an instructor. Students in his Studio Blue class were offered five extra credit points for entering. Gerard said he didn’t really need the extra credit but figured it sounded like fun.

“I actually ended up getting 15 points for winning,” Gerard said. “You never know. It could come in handy later in the semester.”

A&H Dean, Dr. Hollis Robbins, said the inspiration for the contest was simple. “We decided to hold this contest because we missed seeing students!” she said. Robbins personally donated the prize money. She said this is her contribution to the contest.

Robbins, Linda Eichhorn, Leigh McTaggart, and Tai Russotti, all from the Dean’s office, are the judges for the ongoing rounds. 

“I received a number of emails from students who weren’t able to make the first deadline so rather than giving four prizes for the first week, we decided to extend the contest through the end of the semester,” Robbins said.

This week’s winner, Joshua Gerard Chongyu Liu, is a tennis athlete at Sonoma State. He has moved out of student housing and is sheltering in place in Folsom with his girlfriend’s family. She is also on SSU’s tennis team and they had been playing tennis on the local courts until they closed on April 8th. 

He’s back to square one on how to stay in shape now, as are many athletes. He said that a lot of athletes he’s talked to are going through a kind of grief over lost seasons. For many of them, athletics is a part of who they are and a large part of why they chose to attend SSU. While the NCAA has granted all student athletes an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 crisis, it doesn’t really change those feelings right now. 

“I think we all just need to talk to each other, you know? We’re all feeling it and we’ll get through it better together,” Gerard said.

Robbins and the other judges are keeping a mental tally of possible honorable mentions for the contest’s conclusion. “As we get more submissions from more students, I expect we will have a number of special prizes for super-creative, out-of-the-box, unexpected videos. We hope to be surprised, delighted and moved to tears,” Robbins said.

Echoing some of Gerard’s sentiment, she said, “I should emphasize that we would welcome melancholy work as well. This is a rough time. People are hurting. If someone wants to represent their rage or frustrations, they should feel welcome to.”

While Everson entertained viewers with her artistic endeavors, including writing “STAY HOME” on her forehead in black eyeliner, Gerard wove his love of tennis into his video. Spoiler alert: he lost the match. 

What will he be doing with the prize money? Hanging onto it, for now. In addition to saving money on rent by moving out of the dorms, Gerard is doing all he can to conserve money to help his parents out in any way he can. 

Gerard is Singaporian by birth, but was raised in Malaysia and went to an international high school run by British educators. His parents have a business in Malaysia that is currently shut down due to COVID-19 concerns, and the future is uncertain for all of them. He tries not to worry, and he’s frustrated that he cannot go home right now, but he’s making the best of things, as we all are. 

“The US is the best in terms of student-athlete programs, and that drove me to play and study here,” Gerard said. He may not be able to help them directly right now, but he can honor them by doing his best here, now, in whatever ways he is able to–even if he’s not playing sports right now.

The call is out for more entries, so put on your creative tin foil hats, whip out your phone or DSLR, don’t worry about 5G frying your brain, and make some 30-second videos. This week’s deadline is Wednesday. It’s coming up fast!