Unmasking Isla Vista: A COVID-19 Community Archive

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.”