Unmasking Isla Vista: A COVID-19 Community Archive

KCSB and 'Daily Nexus' to Document the Ways Isla Vista Changed Amid Pandemic

This story first appeared at the Daily Nexus.

Dear KCSB listeners and Daily Nexus readers,

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, UC Santa Barbara and Isla Vista community members have had to adjust almost all aspects of their lives to help mitigate the spread of the virus.

As Isla Vista slowly re-opens, KCSB and the Daily Nexus have decided to work together to document the ways in which our community has changed over the past 18 months. Beginning August 2, we will be releasing a new series, “Unmasking Isla Vista: A COVID-19 Community Archive.”

This collaborative, multimedia series is made up of six components which will be released over the span of six weeks beginning August 2: Human Struggle, University & Students, Testing & Vaccines, Local Businesses & Essential Workers, Community Reflection and Community Activism.

Each component will feature community experts and leaders such as the Isla Vista Community Services District President and Director Spencer Brandt and Santa Barbara County Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso.

Each component will be presented as a Daily Nexus article, KCSB radio segment and KCSB newsletter. These various components will be published every Monday throughout the six-week series.

In addition to presenting content in three different formats, KCSB and the Daily Nexus will be featuring several multimedia elements including art, graphics, data, photography and video.

This page will be updated with each new segment upon its release date. We hope you will join us in reading and listening to “Unmasking Isla Vista: A COVID-19 Community Archive.”

– KCSB and Daily Nexus journalists

Unmasking Isla Vista: Human Struggle

Human Struggle article
Human Struggle podcast episode
Human Struggle newsletter

Unmasking Isla Vista: University & Students

University & Students article
University & Students podcast episode
University & Students newsletter

Unmasking Isla Vista: Testing & Vaccines

Testing & Vaccines article
Testing & Vaccines podcast episode
Testing & Vaccines newsletter

Unmasking Isla Vista: Local Businesses & Essential Workers

Local Businesses & Essential Workers article
Local Businesses & Essential Workers podcast episode
Local Businesses & Essential Workers newsletter

Unmasking Isla Vista: Community Reflection

Community Reflection Daily Nexus video
Community Reflection podcast episode
Community Reflection newsletter

Unmasking Isla Vista: Community Activism

Community Activism Daily Nexus article
Community Activism podcast episode
Community Activism newsletter

Hot off the Pod Episodes

Episode 1: HOTP Dives into the Unmasking IV Collaboration Pt. 1

Thanks to the following people for contributing to “Unmasking Isla Vista: A COVID-19 Community Archive.”

Daily Nexus Journalists: Sindhu Ananthavel, Atmika Iyer, Holly Rusch, Asumi Shuda and Katherine Swartz

KCSB Journalists: Alexandra Goldberg, Daniel Huecias, Pia Ramos, Ashley Rusch, Yulene Teagle and Jennifer Yoshikoshi

Daily Nexus Videographers: Evan Cacatian and Juliana Zappitell

Daily Nexus Artists and Graphic Creators: Hannah Appel, Noelle Chan, Luca Disbrow, Emerson Domingo, Natalie Fiorindo, Daniella Gomez, Alex Rudolph and Kelly Yan

KCSB Artists: Madeline Miller and Shirley Wang

Daily Nexus Photographers: Pia Ramos and Kaiyi Yang

At the Santa Barbara Independent, our staff continues to cover every aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic. Support the important work we do by making a direct contribution.