The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Day: November 8, 2017

  • Student veterans get honored

    Student veterans get honored

    By | Charlotte Rutigliano

    At this week’s football game on Saturday, Nov. 11, three student veterans will be honored during halftime.

    Scott Elsworth will be awarded a thousand dollar scholarship. This scholarship is the first ever at HSU. The money for the scholarship was donated by Sean T. and Robin Baille.

    “It is a nice surprise to be selected,” Elsworth said, “and I’m thankful for the opportunity.”

    Elsworth who is originally from Porterville, California served four years in the U.S. Navy. He is currently in his senior year at HSU majoring in Forestry/Hydrology. Elsworth is an active member of the water resource club on campus and is currently learning to play the violin as a memento of his time in college.

    Former U.S. Navy Fire Controlman James Lamping will be awarded the Veteran Meritorious Award. This award is based on the students’ academics as well as their work with veterans both on and off campus. Lamping’s peers nominated him for this award.

    “I was extremely honored to receive this award,” Lamping said, “I know this is a nomination based award, and those who nominated me, thank you.”

    Lamping who was raised in Irvine, California, served six years in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Higgins. During his time he was deployed three times. Twice to the Persian Gulf and once on an “Around the World” tour. Lamping is currently a Forestry major with an emphasis in forest soils, he is also working towards a minor in Geospatial analysis.

    McKinleyville local Lucas Miller will be awarded the Humboldt Hero’s Award. This award can be awarded to any veteran in the Humboldt County community. Miller will also be playing in Saturday’s game against Central Washington.

  • Vets day at the zoo

    Vets day at the zoo

    By | Charlotte Rutigliano

    On Friday, Nov. 10 the Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation will be opening its doors to everyone for free.

    In honor of Veterans Day, the Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation with sponsorship from the Times-Standard is offering free admission to the zoo all day.

    According to Ashley Mobley, Events and Marketing Coordinator with the Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation, the zoo has been doing this event for the past few years.

    “The zoo is a community asset, it’s important to serve those who served,” Mobley said, “we can do this by giving a free day to everyone.”

    Mobley said that they are able to do an event like this because they have the sponsorship from the Times-Standard.

    Christina Arends, office coordinator for the Times-Standard, said that in the past they have sponsored the Red Panda Day events but this is the first time they are sponsoring the Veterans day event.

    According to Mobley, there will be a variety of different things for guests to experience at the zoo, from animal feedings, petting barnyard animals, a kids coloring contest, and visiting the resident bald eagles Cheyenne and Juneau.

    “There will also be veterans services tables there as well, the Eureka Vet Center will be there the whole day,” Mobley said, “and the Humboldt County Veterans Services Office will be there from 11 AM to 2 PM.

    Mobley said that when the zoo does free events like this, they tend to see an increase in admissions, but it still does depend on the weather if people will come out or not.

    “Free events like this gives an opportunity to people that might not normally come out to the zoo,” Mobley said.

    The Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation opens at 10 AM and admission is free all day.

     

  • Student Veterans gains larger community space

    Student Veterans gains larger community space

    By | Lauren Shea

    The community space for student veterans has grown as the support for student veterans continues.

    The Student Veterans Association cafe is up and running again. The café helps fund activities and events for student veterans. The café resides outside the Veterans office on the lower level of the library.

    The food ranges from coffee to organic food and gluten free options. James Lamping, Forestry Major, talked about the type of food they have at the cafe.

    LSSVA2
    Mural inside the Veterans Office in the Lower Library room 58. Photo credit: Lauren Shea

    “We usually try to have healthier options,” Lamping said. “Once we move into the larger community space, we would like to try to create SVA mason jars for students.”

    Lamping is a U.S. Navy veteran where he spent six years in the service.

    “The biggest off-putting factor of going back to school after the military is the huge age gap,” Lamping said. “Being 28 in college with people much younger than me was tough. It helps to find a common ground with people.”

    The Student Veterans Association not only provides resources for student veterans, but a space to build relationships in a familiar community. They’re closely linked with the Student Veterans Association on the national level. They help to represent student veterans with programs such as the GI Bill and their healthcare and give them the opportunity to be heard and represented as a military population in the government but on a school level.

    “The organization really puts a huge effort into creating awareness of the challenges that veterans go through when transitioning back into civilian life,” Lamping said.

    Lamping had the support of the Veterans Resource Center at his community college.

    “The transition wasn’t that insane to me, but I know people that have come out with PTSD and other mental trauma,” Lamping said. “It’s really important to have that community space where you can talk with people about it.”

    One of their main goals is to create and have a community space for veterans to build a support system in a familiar community. They plan to have a soft opening of the space soon and hope to get grant money in the future to furnish it.

    Some of the activities that the Student Veterans Association have are intramural sports. Last year, they played Dodgeball. This year they’re playing Volleyball. Their team is named the Blue Falcons.

    Myra Hallman, the scribe for the association helps plan some of the events for the student veterans. She is also involved with planning activities in the Outdoor Program.

    “The Outdoor Program really helps vets with getting them outdoors and decompressing,” Hallman said. “We’ve done quite a few different activities. Some of the activities we have are hiking, rafting, kayaking and snowboarding.”

    Kim Hall, the Veterans Program Administrator, helps veterans transition, get enrolled and provide resources for their start at HSU.

    “The program is run mainly by student veterans in the program,” Hall said. “We provide them with the sense of community for people transitioning into civilian life.”

    The Student Veterans Association and the Veterans Transition services are closely tied with the Veterans Resource Center in Eureka.

    “I think the support for veterans is important and the program helps bring awareness to community,” Hall said.

    HSU veterans and students in the community will come together on Veterans Day to honor their services.

     

  • A veteran community at HSU

    A veteran community at HSU

    By | Charlotte Rutigliano

    With a strong sense of community, the Student Veterans Association (SVA) have been helping student veterans since 2008.

    SVA President James Lamping said that the club is about creating an atmosphere and peer to peer support for veterans, dependents, and active service members on campus.

    “We having monthly meetings to help create a community on campus for veterans,” Lamping said. “This kind of club can help with a veterans transitions back to civilian life.”

    Navy veteran and Environmental Science major Heather Navle-Stierley said that when she got out of the military in August of 2015, she had very little support.

    “The SVA has helped me transition into student life,” Navle-Stierley said. “Military life was all I had ever known since I was 18 years old.”

    Navle-Stierley, who is also acting SVA vice-president said that she has always felt welcomed and not judged for being a combat veteran with little civilian life experience.

    According to Kim Hall, Veterans Coordinator as of Fall 2017, there are around 740 veteran affiliated students on campus, ranging from veterans, dependents, and active service members.

    “We have around 180 veterans, 585 dependents, and a handful of active duty service members,” Hall said.

    Air Force veteran and marketing major Myra Hallman is one of 22 registered members of the SVA. She said that being apart of SVA gives her a way to contribute to the community in different ways, and it helps polish her leadership and time management skills.

    According to Hallman, the SVA recently ran a supply drive to help the families in need down in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

    “It’s a small way to help those in need,” Hallman said.

    Hallman said that she feels very fortunate to have an opportunity to work with some of the best and brightest student veterans at HSU through the SVA.

    According to Lamping, the club here on campus is part of a larger national organization called Student Veterans of America.

    “Student Veterans of America helps campuses nationwide create community resource centers,” Lamping said. “We’re opening up one here in Library Room 55, within the next few weeks or so.”

    According to Lamping, the SVA will be going to San Antonio, Texas during the winter break for the Student Veterans of America conference, which brings together thousands of student veterans from across the country.

    “We’ll being driving an RV there and back,” Lamping said. “The RV is gonna have a big HSU and SVA logo on the sides.”

    Lamping and Hallman said that they will be documenting the entire trip and sharing the clubs journey on social media as part of a marketing campaign for Student Veterans of America.

    “We’ve been talking to the marketing and communications team about taking over the Instagram page for the trip,” Lamping said.