MUNCIE — One Greenfield man is such a strong proponent of wearing face masks to fight the spread of COVID-19, he’s now sporting a mask that’s roughly 10 feet wide to get the message across.
Gabe Cochard is among a handful of Ball State University students who were featured in the college’s latest “We Fly” marketing campaign, which features students pictured on billboards, banners and other promotional materials.
Cochard granted permission to have a giant mask plastered over the face of his banner, which hangs from the 10-story Teachers College Building at the university’s busiest intersection. At 60 feet tall, it’s by far the biggest “We Fly” banner on campus.
Adding the mask is part of the university’s new Cardinals Care public health campaign, which asks every member of the campus community to pledge to do their part in limiting the spread of COVID-19, both on and off campus.
As a nursing student heading into his senior year, Cochard was excited about helping spread what he feels is a vital message on how crucial face masks can be in helping control the spread of the coronavirus.
“I am actually very happy they’re adding the mask,” said the college commuter, who hopes to land a job as a pediatric nurse at Riley Children’s Hospital or Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital after graduating next spring.
“Knowing they’re going to use that banner to promote wearing a mask and being healthy and being safe during these times, I just really like that,” said Cochard, who graduated from Greenfield-Central High School in 2017.
While he hasn’t been back to the Muncie campus since classes were cut short in March, he did have two months to see his banner flying high on the Teachers College after it was installed in January.
“A lot of my friends think it’s kind of neat, and some of my professors said they recognized me from the banner,” said Cochard, the son of Brian and Deborah Cochard of Greenfield.
He knows Ball State will take on a whole new look when classes resume Aug. 24, as students return to campus sporting masks and face shields.
The Cardinals Care campaign was designed to encourage students and staff to adapt to the new normal by adhering to protective behaviors like wearing face coverings, physical distancing and proper hygiene. The message will be spread not only by Cochard’s banner, but through informational videos, social media posts, websites, emails and signage.
All Ball State students and staff are being asked to take the Cardinals Care Pledge to care for themselves, the campus and community.
“At Ball State University, we are guided by our enduring values, which include social responsibility — our individual and collective obligation to behave and act in ways that are in the best interest of other people,” Ball State President Geoffrey S. Mearns said in a news release. “During these unprecedented times, it is more important than ever for all of us to be responsible for ourselves and each other.”
Mearns stressed that with the nation confronting the COVID-19 pandemic, the campus community must rise to the occasion with members taking responsibility for themselves and each other.
Ball State is also encouraging local business and community organizations to join the university in committing to safety protocols to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19.
Cochard urges his peers to adhere to the University’s safety protocols — both on and off campus.
“My parents are older, and I wear a mask to protect them. I worry and care about them enough to take this seriously,” he said.
