This article was originally published by the Steamboat Springs School District.
Steamboat Springs, Colo. – Sloane Speer, a recent graduate of Steamboat Springs High School, opens the podcast with an idyllic description of the small town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, accompanied by a serene guitar melody in the background. Speer describes Steamboat as a slice of “paradise” but shares that Steamboat isn’t immune to more significant issues of discrimination commonly seen across the country.
Jenny Shea, an American Literature and AP Literature teacher at Steamboat Springs High School (SSHS), sponsors the Students for Social Justice Club (S4SJ) at SSHS. According to Shea, this year, she had an incredible group of student writers in the club and knew they were ready to take on a bigger challenge. She introduced the idea of creating a podcast to the group, and the students dove in head first.
The Students for Social Justice Club at Steamboat Springs High School collaborated with the community to create a podcast highlighting efforts to combat discrimination in the Yampa Valley. Pictured left to right: Sloane Speer, Miela Brinkman, Jenny Shea, Jenny’s son, Julian, Sofia Scherff-Zamora, and Bella Davidson. Two students who contributed that are not pictured are Will Hall and Amelie Wild. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Shea)
Their vision was to create a journalistic piece that told the story of the formation and practices of the Steamboat Team to Disrupt Antisemitism and Discrimination (STAND). The group was formed to help combat discrimination in the Yampa Valley after antisemitic incidents occurred in the community. S4SJ believed that if they told the story of STAND, other communities in Colorado, and even across the nation, could hear about the progress happening in Steamboat and create something similar.
The club’s podcast had to be completely original to enter the contest, even the music used in the background as the story was told. Additionally, Speer, the former president of S4SJ, worked with her guitar teacher and Board of Education member, Kevin Callahan, to create and record the guitar music used in the podcast.
According to Speer, the group started brainstorming how to approach the podcast in January. The students worked on script writing, interviews, and editing the podcast throughout the spring semester. The club spent every Monday, along with other lunches and open hours, writing and rewriting the script and conducting interviews with several community members.
“Every person we interviewed was helpful and supportive,” said Bella Davidson, a rising junior at SSHS. “We couldn’t have done it without them.”
The students missed the deadline to submit their podcast episode to NPR but stuck with the project. The club decided it was best to finish the podcast, make it their own, and stay true to the story they were pursuing.
“It’s cool how this group of students rallied behind this idea,” said Speer. “Everyone pitched in, and it was a team effort. It’s cool to see what a group of passionate, motivated students can accomplish.”
Speer said the group would like to see the podcast shared at the community level and, if possible, nationally. The group wants to use the podcast to spread the message and model of STAND as far and wide as possible.
The podcast, “Breaking the Bubble: How an Idyllic Ski Town is Combatting Hate” is now finished and published for wider distribution.
“These students have perfectly exemplified our biggest hope for STAND: to let the work of disrupting hate and discrimination inspire and encourage others to use their voices and make real change within their own communities,” said Kolby Morris-Dahary, Rabbi of Har Mishpacha, the Jewish Congregation of Steamboat Springs and the Founder of STAND. “It is our hope that STAND can be a model for other communities around the world to work together across differences to make their worlds safer and kinder for all.”
Bella said working on the podcast and with STAND has inspired her to advocate more and use her voice to stand up for social justice issues.
“Standing up to hate is important,” she said. “This podcast shows the approach we have been trying to take. It’s important to continue to work on making our town a more accepting place.”