Burchell High students debut anti-tobacco commercials at VPA

WASILLA— Students at Burchell High School are unveiling the toils of the efforts, screening their homemade films speaking out about the dangers of tobacco at the Valley Performing Arts center Friday at 5 p.m. This event is free to attend and open to the public.

“Ninety percent of smokers start before the age of 18,” said Noel Crowley-Bell, Tobacco Program Coordinator for Alaska Family Services.

Each 1-3 minute video is student made production intended to raise awareness and speak out against tobacco and tobacco companies, much like those seen in “the Truth” national advertisements. This sort of peer-to-peer messaging has proven effective over the years, according to Noel Crowley-Bell.

“It’s about them, it’s about the work they’ve done- and some of the impacts they’ve made first hand,” Noel Crowley-Bell said.

This coordination between Alaska Family Services, the district, Burchell, teachers and students colligated into a hands on learning experience with encouraging results.

“Just to see a red carpet event- the kids have seen it all the way through- It’s amazing what they’ve done,” said Deborah Price, Homeless Advocate under the Mat-Su Borough School District (MSBSD).

Price works with students across MSBSD. She spends a majority of her time between Burchell, Redington, and Houston high school students, focusing her efforts on helping the homeless teens learn how to succeed. She snowballed the original question a year ago, “what can we do for our students to keep them from smoking and help those who have started, stop?” Price reached out to her neighbor, Crowley-Bell.

“She was beside herself,” Crowley-Bell said.

The anti-tobacco film project easily fit with the school’s Teen Leadership/Media Literacy after school program, according to Sherryl Lloyd, Advanced path teacher for BHS. The students took keen interest in the project and worked fervently to make their films shine.

“I was pleasantly surprised to see the results,” Lloyd said. “They’re really excited to see their work in finished form.”

At the show, In addition to revealing their work to their community, students will honor Price and two BHS teachers who’ve been integral parts of the school for 20 years. This endeavor made for a fitting last project for the soon to be retired Burchell teachers and Marquard, according to Lloyd.

“It’s their last baby,” Lloyd said.

The indomitable twins have invested well over two decades of service to their school’s youth, embedding into their surrounding community, as their cohorts have so often testified in these bittersweet remaining months. They’re leaving for Texas after they finish the school year and they’ll throw one last open-house party at MyHouse in May.

“They have worn many hats over the years, for sure,” Lloyd said.

Crowley-Bell did some focus groups with the BHS students, gathering background information, their knowledge and their smoking habits. Those who smoked started young, around 13; most of the supply came from snatching cigarettes unattended by family members.

“It’s pretty easy to take some [cigarettes] with nobody noticing,” Crowley-Bell said.

The Tobacco industry spends roughly 8.9 million a year promoting their products. She said that these teen-created videos are countering the efforts of tobacco companies.

“They’re aware of populations most susceptible to smoke,” Crowley-Bell said. “Those hit those heaviest are low income, minorities, and LGBT communities.”

"If smoking continues at the current rate in this country, an estimated 5.6 million of today’s Americans younger than 18 (including 14,000 Alaska youth) will suffer and die early from a smoking-related illness. That’s about 1 of every 13 Americans aged 17 years or younger alive today. In 2017, 10 percent of Alaska high school students smoked and 8 percent used smokeless tobacco,” Crowley-Bell wrote in a recent press release about event, citing data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Alaska Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2017.