The SXSW (South by Southwest) Interactive Awards has named the University of Miami School of Communication finalists in the student category for the website “Prescribing Addiction” which highlights the dangers of addiction to prescription medication.

 The web site, http://prescribingaddiction.com/, was created in Prof. Kim Grinfeder’s “Interactive Storytelling Class” and includes video testimonials of young people talking openly about their interactions and struggles with prescription drugs. Included are a 25-year-old who once visited up to 10 doctors a day to get prescriptions and a father who was a former addict, but now speaks to students about the dangers.

 “The fact that a project done at the undergraduate level is a finalist in one of the largest interactive festivals in the world says a great deal about the School of Communication and it's journalism program,” said Grinfeder, an award-winning visual journalism professor who teaches multimedia design.

The site also includes sections with statistics about pill abuse, resources to get help, as well as videos where a nurse, a police officer, and an activist answer questions about   addiction. Another section allows people to share their stories of addiction.

To create the web site, students split up into groups of designers, coders and videographers.

“We wanted it to be interactive, a site where we shared the stories of people we  met and allowed others to comment with stories of their own,” said Nicole Collazo, a recent SoC graduate and one of the students who created the website. “I'm really excited and happy that our site was nominated and that our efforts are paying off.”

Prescribing Addiction is competing against websites by Savannah College of Art and Design, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Stanford University.

The winners of The SXSW Interactive Awards will be announced on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 in Texas.

 Since 1987, The SXSW Interactive Awards are held every year in Austin, Texas during the South by Southwest music, film, and interactive conference. The conference invites students and professionals to enter their work in various categories including Social Media, Motion Graphics, and Technical Achievement. South by Southwest has become one of the largest interactive media festivals in the world attracting 200,000 visitors a year.

*To check out "Prescribing Addiction" click here.

-  Brooke LeMaire