SAN MARCOS -- Comics are a serious matter for some students at High Tech High School in San Marcos.

As part of a weeklong session on service learning, which involves focusing on an issue and doing community outreach, about 30 students are using a medium usually associated with "Peanuts" and "Luann" to address hate crimes against minorities, homosexuals and other groups.

"It's been interesting to teach that a comic is a way of communicating something important in life," said Michelle Cavassa, an art teacher at the charter school. "It took a while to convince them that this was a valid way to express something serious."

The students say they hope their comic strips will appear in a publication or be displayed in their school's new building when it opens on San Marcos Boulevard next year. The school has been operating out of portable buildings next to the site since opening two years ago.

Other High Tech High classes did projects that involved beach cleanups and visits to a food bank. Cavassa worked with humanities teacher Asal Mizahossein on the comics project, which included a trip to Morse High School in San Diego to discuss hate crimes with other students.

Some High Tech High students also attended a play about racism and read Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel "Maus" for inspiration for their own serious comics.

Working in teams of three or four, the students created 11 projects.

Freshman Matthew Fournier, 15, worked solo on his comic strip, which he described as a public service announcement about hate crimes.

"I wanted to give a message, like if someone was sitting in church or in a crowd, listening to someone at a podium," he said. "I wanted to ingrain the message with them by having a powerful image."

His strip, "What Would You Do?," features a man at a pulpit telling the congregation about various types of discrimination. The powerful image comes in one of the final panels, which shows a woman who has been hanged.

The dialogue boxes contain fewer than 50 words, but the message is still clear and shocking.

As they worked on their project, other students also learned how comics can communicate powerful messages with just a few words and pictures.

Sophomore J.P. Sammer, 16, said he learned how less is more when creating the comic "Burning Words," which dealt with racism.

"It forces you to use as few words as possible, so you choose them carefully," he said.

Sammer's comic was based on callous comments posted online by people who read a San Diego Union-Tribune article about a woman killed in the 2007 wildfires. The woman was an undocumented immigrant, and some readers wrote that she got what she deserved.

"Is this the American dream, to impose hate on somebody coming to get a better life for their family?" said sophomore Victoria Clay, 16, who drew the artwork.

Clay said she and her teammates, who include Harrison Lynch and Huanchen Aliu, picked racism because they believe it was a relevant issue in North County. The story ends with another reader, appalled at the other comments, posting a response to the hatred he saw in the forum and then attending a candlelight vigil in memory of the woman.

Alexis Durso, Katia Brunson, Izzy Santarsieri and Gabby Olivas, all 15 and sophomores, worked on two versions of a story about hate crimes against homosexuals. The comic uses digital photos instead of drawings, and Durso and Brunson created a traditional panel comic with the still pictures while Santarsieri and Olivas made a short film with narration.

"You learn that things like facial expressions are so important," Durso said about working on the comic. "An overexaggeration may help make a point."

Their story, "Just Keep Walking," showed different reactions from people who see a lesbian couple holding hands. One person ignores the couple, and another gives a thumbs-up. One person even attacks the couple, while somebody else comes to their aid.

Santarsieri said her team wanted their comic to draw readers into the scene and make them think about which of the scenarios would describe their reaction.

"We started focusing and thinking of people who say, 'If it's not happening to me, why should I care?'" she said.

Call staff writer Gary Warth at 760-740-5410.

Download the comics Comic 1, Comic 2, Comic 3