The HSU community was burdened with the loss and murders of David Josiah Lawson in Arcata, California April 15, 2017 and Corey S. Clark in Eureka, California Oct. 6, 2001.
The justice movement for Lawson and Clark has continued to gather students in efforts to raise awareness to other students and the community they live in.
‘The Diversity Is Not Inclusion Rally’ brought students together at the HSU quad on Sept. 12, to further inform students about the loss of Lawson and Clark, and speak about universities who should be held accountable for failing to protect and support students of color.
Vice President of the Black Student Union, Barbara Singleton lead the rally held at the quad, and voiced her concerns about HSU and the handling of students of color.
“At Humboldt State, students here are viewed as economical commodities. If they (Humboldt State University) bring us up here, they have to know we are bringing in black and Hispanic culture. If they can’t respect us, then don’t bring us up here,” Singleton said.
Hot topic issues such as student homelessness and budget cuts to the universities institutions were also some of the issues brought to the students attention in attendance. The focus of the rally was to reiterate the issue of the two unsolved murders of HSU students, Lawson and Clark, and to raise awareness for students that there lays a capitalistic mentality towards students on and off campus.
Senior Nathaniel McGuigan, part of the Justice for Josiah movement, first came to HSU as a freshman completely unaware of any racism,
“Like many other new students, I was unaware of what happened in the community, I did not learn about many of these issues until my second year,” McGuigan said.
The rally further voiced more awareness to future HSU students, in order to keep them informed of a divide that seems apparent between students on and off campus.
“We want the Humboldt State Administration, to get involved in the case, to actually put pressure on the Arcata City Council and helping us seek justice for Josiah,” McGuigan said.
Meg Stofsky, one of the speakers at the rally, spoke about her view of the racism she feels that is present in Arcata.
“I came here and found…really a ghetto. HSU feels like a ghetto to me, and so does Arcata, where the systemic and historic racism means that you can kill people and get away with it, and it does not matter,” Stofsky said.
