The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Day: November 9, 2019

  • Ask Evergreen: Secret Socialite

    Ask Evergreen: Secret Socialite

    Ask Evergreen is a weekly advice column by the students of the Lumberjack.

    Each week we answer anonymous questions sent in by readers about anything and everything.

    Dear Evergreen,

    My boyfriend’s mad I didn’t tell him I have a finsta. What should I do?

    Dear Secret Socialite,

    Healthy relationships involve frequent and meaningful communication, even if that means confessing you have a secret social media account.

    The whole reason for having an alternate Instagram account is to hide it from your regular account’s followers. However, considering that you could have been forthcoming about the situation to avoid any disdain, it makes sense that your boyfriend is irritated.

    Your boyfriend is probably upset with you because you chose not to tell him. If he found out about your finsta on his own or through your friends he could feel like he’s left out of your loop.

    Withholding information is a form of deceit even if you didn’t straight up lie.

    He may think that he’s not important enough to know what you’re up to because you decided to keep your secret Instagram a secret from him. Since he’s your partner, I’m sure he expects to know what’s going on in your life.

    Alternatively, you are your own person and you don’t have to report every action of yours to your partner. And of course, all of this depends on how new and fresh the relationship is.

    Maybe you use your finsta to vent about the annoying things that your boyfriend does. While that may not be the best way to relieve frustration, it’s acceptable and doesn’t make you a bad partner.

    Maybe your finsta is used for posting weird content and you don’t want to be judged by your boyfriend. If it is a new relationship, this is completely understandable.

    If you still actively use your finsta and restrict your boyfriend from following it, be sure you communicate why. It’s more than okay to have areas of your life that are yours and yours alone. If you plan on staying in this relationship, try not to leave your boyfriend in the dark about the important things, and remember that setting boundaries respectfully is an important piece of any healthy relationship.

    Good luck!

    Sincerely,

    Evergreen

    If you have any questions you’d like to send in, email us at contactthejack@gmail.com. We won’t publish any names and you don’t need to use one.

  • Musician Feature: Ultramafic

    Musician Feature: Ultramafic

    HSU graduates form stoner metal band with a new ‘garage prog’ sound

    Tom Norman, Kaito Figeira and Russell Stroud make up the three piece instrumental rock band, Ultramafic. The inspiration for the name, which refers to a heavy igneous rock found in Earth’s mantle, stemmed from Norman and Figeira’s majors of art and geology.

    “We both graduated and we were like, let’s make an artsy-geological rock band,” Norman said. “Do something with our degrees a little bit.”

    In 2015, Norman and Figeira started the band. Norman plays the guitar, Figeira’s on the drums and Stroud plays the electric bass. Figeira and Norman have been in a relationship for eight years and share a home in Arcata that doubles as a space for band practice.

    Ultramafic performing a private song in their eclectic basement which doubles as jam room on Oct. 19. | Photo by Jerame Saunders

    After recording a small demo for fun, Norman and Figeira showed some friends. Under the impression the demo was from a band, they were asked to perform at a show in three weeks. Norman and Figeria agreed, but lacked a bass player. Russell Stroud was the man for the job.

    “Three weeks and a few blood blisters later we got our first gig,” Stroud said.

    Ever since, the band has acted as a cohesive unit. Producing music they call “garage prog,” it fits into the stoner and metal music categories. The added garage aspect represents their distorted, psychedelic sound accompanied by heavy, slow blues rhythms. The progressive nature of their rock is influenced by 70s and 80s progressive rock musicians such as Frank Zappa, Rush and Yes!

    “Most of our songs are five or six small songs crammed together, but there’s a flow through it and some themes,” Norman said. “We have kind of a lot of Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath comparisons.”

    Initially, the band struggled to find the right shows to play with artists that share similar music styles. But their success began in 2015; when the band found Humboldt they felt at home, becoming an immediate influence on Humboldt’s musical community.

    “We are small, but bands you would never expect to come through town, come here and play,” Figeira said. “It’s a really cool scene and it brings a lot of interesting people to this area.”

    Connections in the musical scene secured Ultramafic a six show tour across three states: Montana, Oregon and Washington.

    “Music is life man,” Stroud said. “I can’t live without music in my life. It needs to be there everyday and playing it is even better. Getting to be apart of the collective that is creating music and getting to be one of the people that not only has put in time to play, but is decent at it too.”

    The band released their newest album ‘Pyroclastic Flow’ on Oct. 31 and performed at the Siren’s Song on Nov. 2 with WitchRipper and Thundercloud.

  • El Leñador: Inspiring Diverse Coverage

    El Leñador: Inspiring Diverse Coverage

    HSU’s bilingual monthly newspaper highlights and represents minority groups 

    Lack of diversity in newsrooms across the nation perpetuates the lack of representation in stories. According to the Jelani Cobb from the Guardian, it is all too often that the demographics of news writers look nothing like the communities they cover.

    Humboldt State University’s bilingual newspaper, El Leñador, is changing that one monthly issue at a time.

    “This paper is so special because it’s part of taking back that narrative,” Jose Herrera, El Leñador’s layout editor, said. “We are producing the paper. We are first generation, Latinx, African American, LGBTQ or Asian. We’re writing our own stories.”

    El Leñador held a panel discussion Nov. 7 in the Goodwin Forum as part of the week-long Campus & Community Dialogue on Race event. The student-run publication features under-represented stories of the school and community.

    Attendees of the CDOR event listen to editors speak about the paper’s production process. | Photo by Chelsea Wood

    El Leñador’s staff is not limited to those who can speak both Spanish and English, or specific journalism majors; all HSU students are welcome and encouraged to contribute.

    “For me it’s been a life changing experience,” Vanessa Flores, El Leñador’s editor-in-chief, said. “It’s very important for students to pick up newspapers. Not just ours, but the other publications on campus.”

    Flores stressed the importance of student journalism. Without it, campus stories would remain unrepresented since local media isn’t as connected to a campus story as student journalists are.

    Over the past six years El Leñador has covered under-represented communities and continues to carve out a space for minority narratives within Humboldt-based media.

    The work by the student-run publication reverberates throughout the secluded community. El Leñador has forged ahead of larger, local news publications by connecting with its audience more intimately.

    “This paper is so special because it’s part of taking back that narrative. We are producing the paper. We are first generation, Latinx, African American, LGBTQ or Asian. We’re writing our own stories.”

    Jose Herrera

    The editorial board reminded community members at the discussion about the importance of continuing to cover underrepresented stories.

    Cali Fournier, an HSU student, attended the panel discussion and believes that informative, speaking panels are important to have.

    “Racism is a big deal still to this day,” Fournier said. “You should be judged by who you are not by the color of your skin.”

    The El Leñador staff assume multiple roles within the publication. Producing the paper monthly gives students access to a hands-on learning environment, and staff are able to expand their passions whether their skills are in writing, video, audio or art.

    “As a monthly paper and as a student-run paper, it’s really a big training ground for students,” Silvia Alfonso, El Leñador’s managing editor, said.

    El Leñador enables its contributors to bring different perspectives to the table. Its staff encouraged the panel attendees to contribute to the publication.

    Jack Surmani, an HSU alumnus, believes in the message El Leñador emits and thinks the the commitment of the students behind the publication is evident.

    “They know why they’re doing it and have a passion and commitment for being better journalists,” Surmani said.