Santa Fe College ended its yearlong 50th anniversary celebration by burying a time capsule and smashing a bottle of champagne Tuesday.
About 100 people, including college administrators, students and faculty members, attended the event at Santa Fe’s recently built clocktower, at 3000 NW 83rd St. The ceremony started with a short speech from Jackson Sasser, the college’s president, and ended when a bottle of champagne christened the clock tower, which was built in the Fall.
“The height of this clock tower is symbolic of high standards,” Sasser said. “We never, ever can reach high enough with the standards of this college.”
The school’s first-time capsule, which was buried 25 years after Santa Fe opened its doors in 1966, was unearthed this year, said John Carmean, Santa Fe’s director of communications and creative services.
It contained Santa Fe memorabilia and VHS tapes that were damaged by water, he said. The college had the tapes restored by a forensics digital recovery service.
For this year’s burial, videos are stored on USB flash drives in weather-proof containers. The capsule also included letters from current students and an iPhone.
“People from all over campus suggested what should go in the capsule, so we took those suggestions,” Carmean said. “We’ve included digital things like videos of important moments in the history of the last 25 years of the college.”
This year’s capsule, a stainless steel box to be opened in 2041, was buried earlier this week in a secret location, Carmean said.
The capsule was made by Santa Fe’s welding program and engraved by students in the building construction technology program.
Kadesiah Bellot, a Santa Fe musical theater student, said although she didn’t place any personal belongings in the capsule, she was happy to be a part of her school’s story.
“I wanted to come out today because I wanted to be a part of history, and kind of actually see what a time capsule looked like,” the 22-year-old said.
Bellot’s friend, Joshua White, said the new clock tower has become a defining piece of architecture at the college.
“It’s pretty central to the campus,” the 21-year-old Santa Fe dance sophomore said. “When you’re driving up, it’s kind of the first thing you see.”
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Pictured is the Santa Fe College clock tower.
