SPREADING WORD ABOUT NOT SPREADING VIRUS
Capital students band together in new initiative to create online PSAs, flyers, comics to encourage safe practices in hardest-hit area of Santa Fe
As the coronavirus pandemic disproportionately hits low-income, yet essential workers, students from the high school at the center of Santa Fe’s hard-hit 87507 ZIP code are creating public service announcements to help save their neighbors.
Next week, a collaboration of about 100 Capital High students will release about 15 videos, comic strips, flyers and other methods of breaking down language and information barriers to promote mask-wearing, social distancing and staying home.
“We all live in this area, and our families are working in the service industry and are all pretty much essential workers,” said junior Naomi Tercero, who has worked on the project. “We’ve seen first-hand seeing how everyone has been affected.”
The 87507 ZIP code, which covers the south side of Santa Fe north of Interstate 25, has reported 3,178 cases of COVID-19 — more than half the city’s total, according to the state Department of Health. Comparatively, the 87501 ZIP code reported 278 cases and the 87505 zip code has 890.
Meredith Tilp, who taught at Capital for 13 years before retiring in 2019, helped organize the effort with Diana Pacheco, who spent a dozen years
at the school as a teacher and counselor.
Tilp started a business called 87507 Link in October with the goal of spreading awareness of preventative practices. She said she received a $56,000 CARES Act grant from the city to print shirts, buy bus and billboard advertisement as well as fund student organizations and teacher stipends at Capital in addition to the public service announcements. Tilp is also giving out $3,000 worth of prizes to students with the best announcements.
A video by student Mateo Muñoz shows stop-motion Legos practicing social distancing. Students Kayla Bonilla, Sarela Hernandez Dominguez and Alexandra Mendoza created a video in English and Spanish using a line of falling dominos to represent how a person with
COVID-19 who doesn’t isolate infects two to three others per day. A socially distanced domino is removed from the line the second time around to stop the spread.
“It shouldn’t surprise me, but it always does,” Aaron Girdner, an alum in his 11th year teaching at Capital, said. “Our kids are super creative.”
Tercero, who is missing out on the high school swimming season, said the virtual effort was a welcome collaboration in a school year without traditional social, athletic and extracurricular activities.
“We’ve missed working and practicing and doing stuff together,” Tercero said. “It’s nice to try to bring some change and attention instead of just sitting back.”
The public service announcements will be published on the Capital High Distributive Education Clubs of America’s Facebook page next week at facebook.com/ capitalhighdeca.