by Nick Escalada and Jasmin Shirazian

Throughout the school year and in the summer, many Cal Poly Humboldt students rely on the Cal Poly Humboldt Student Health and Wellbeing Services (SHWS) as their only source of medical assistance. Already limited services are worsened in the summer when staff is reduced, leaving students in urgent situations without many solutions. 

For students without reliable transportation, seeking help off-campus can be an obstacle. The Student Health Center’s (SHC) accommodations fell short for sophomore archeology major Nick Howell, who injured his rotator cuff while working on-campus this past summer. Even as a student throughout the academic year, Howell was not able to receive any emergency care due to not being enrolled in summer classes.

“I was working eight hours on campus for this position. I wasn’t in a class, but I was right there. I was in Nelson Hall, 10 feet away from the Health Center, that had these big signs,” Howell said. “I spent about 40 bucks on an Uber back-and-forth to go to Redwood Urgent Care, and then it was a $50 charge to [be seen]. At the end of the day, it’s nearly 100 bucks that could be free if I was allowed to be seen.”

The Student Health Center acts as the outpatient medical facility located on the university campus. There are two sides to the medical services provided by the SHC: one for scheduled care and one for acute — sudden — conditions, as Executive Director of Student Health & Wellbeing Service Jennifer Sanford explained. Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) are also available to students during the school year, though it is a different sector of the Student Health and Wellbeing Services. During the summer, however, both medical and mental health services are reduced for returning and summer students alike. 

Even during the school year, the SHC is limited in its ability to treat all students’ needs, according to Sanford. While the center has an X-ray lab, other, more severe conditions must be referred to Mad River Community Hospital or other urgent care centers in the surrounding area. Only 14 medical professionals, ranging from physicians to medical assistants as listed on the SHWS website, worked at the center this past semester. Come summer, staff numbers are even lower, thus the already limited resources are unavailable, such as X-rays.

“We see a lot of sprained ankles, broken bones, upper respiratory infections, urinary tract infections, [gastrointestinal] stuff, rashes, issues with ears,” Sanford said. “It’s all kinds of stuff on the acute side. On the scheduled side, we do a lot of mental health, reproductive health care. What we would recommend [is that] students keep a primary doctor for things like diabetes or other chronic, ongoing conditions that should continue to be managed by their primary doctor.”

Senior criminology major Lanna Moor had been experiencing flu-like symptoms when the Student Health Center deferred her to off-campus resources. She said this made her feel dismissed and resulted in her paying out-of-pocket for a doctor’s visit and medication at Redwood Urgent Care in Eureka.

“I expected them to run a test, maybe a [COVID-19] or flu test, or anything really. Instead they handed me a sheet of paper saying that I should go buy some ibuprofen,” Moor said. “My expectation was to get something that I didn’t already know. I know that I can just go buy ibuprofen from the store. So, I was expecting maybe a little more help and resources and addressing why I was sick so that I could get back to class. Definitely made me feel like I was incompetent.”

Issues with Student Health and Wellbeing Services extend past the Health Center and physical ailments. Encounters at CAPS have left patients unsatisfied or unserviced, like senior critical race & gender studies major Rubyana Ashman, who has endured weeks and even months-long periods without therapy due to the program’s semesterly eight-session limit.

“It’s just a prevalent thing in our generation. I feel like most people our age have mental health issues or physical health issues that they need taken care of,” Ashman said. “I feel like [an improvement could be] making it easier for people to go more often without it being taxed, like having a limit on how many times someone can go to the Health Center.”

An alternative mental health resource offered by the university is TimelyCare, which is offered over the summer to students enrolled throughout the school year. Students like senior psychology major Mia Fikes, however, would not recommend this outlet to students unless absolutely necessary.

“TimelyCare often felt like gambling with your mental health,” Fikes said. “You would either receive a friendly voice of reason to help you see your problems in a positive light or someone audibly dismissive who made things worse. Chances were about 50/50.”

Sanford is hopeful, however, that as more students come to the university and with the new Housing, Dining and Health Building set to rehome SHWS, issues with the Student Health Center will improve. 

“I think having space will allow us to broaden our reach and actually offer more services,” Sanford said. “Because right now, we’re just out of space and we’re spread out in three locations. Eventually, when we have our new building, all of that will come together. I think as the student population increases, we will really listen to students about what services we don’t have that they might like.”

by Mia Costales

Every fall, community members gather in Old Town Eureka to celebrate Día de Muertos Festival de Altares, a community event celebrating the two-day Mexican holiday that honors the lives of deceased loved ones and celebrates their souls’ return to the overworld. Ofrendas line the gazebo, full of cempazúchitl, pan de muerto, copal, food and gifts. Mariachis perform classics like La Llorona and La Bruja. Most importantly, families come together to honor their culture and pay respects to the ones who came before them. However, this year was different — the celebration was canceled due to concerns that undocumented attendees could be targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

Somos Medicina Collective is a non-profit organization founded by Xochi Quetzalli, with the goal of organizing events celebrating Latiné culture. The collective has been responsible for hosting the Día de Muertos Festival de Altares in Eureka every year since 2019. On Oct. 27, Quetzalli released a statement on Instagram announcing that this year’s event would be canceled. 

“With a heavy heart, we have decided to cancel our Day of the Dead Festival of Altars celebration this year,” the statement read. “In short, we feel that we cannot bring our people together safely at this time, when we are being targeted and kidnapped. We thank you for understanding and wish you a beautiful celebration con sus muertitos at your altares in your homes.” 

 Heightened instances of violence directed towards Latinos in the past months have caused many to be wary of celebrating publicly. On Oct. 30, Carlos Jimenez, a 24-year-old U.S. citizen, was shot and critically injured by an ICE officer in Ontario, Calif. According to Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, 59,762 people are being held in ICE detention facilities as of Sept. 21. While there are still no confirmed cases of ICE sightings in Humboldt County, some Latino locals are taking precautionary measures such as avoiding public events such as Día de Muertos.

Despite the cancellation of hundreds of Día de Muertos celebrations throughout the country this year, Centro del Pueblo remained one of the few organizations that continued with their celebration. Centro del Pueblo Executive Director Brenda Peréz stressed the importance of showing up for her community even in times of struggle.

“We decided to continue with our event because we work with the purpose of revitalizing our culture,” Peréz said. “We wouldn’t have that if we interrupt. We decided to be firm with the decision of sharing our culture because that’s a statement of who we are. We are here to stay, and such an amazing time like Día de Muertos has to be protected by everyone coming together.”

Anna Martinez, a senior political science major with a law and policy concentration, was one of many Cal Poly Humboldt students who celebrated Día de Muertos and put up an ofrenda to honor her grandpa. 

“Whenever I go to events like that, I’m reminded of the community around me,” Martinez said. “I think it goes back to feeling sort of disconnected to my community here in Humboldt, it being so isolated. Having those events really shows us that we’re not alone. We have a lot of events with our community about like ‘know your rights’ and ICE and stuff like that, but sometimes it’s just nice to have an event where we can all just come together and sort of be happy and dance or watch people dance.”

Centro del Pueblo’s Día de Muertos event was held in the Eureka Theatre. It featured performances from Cal Poly Humboldt’s Mariachi Mar Pacifico, Danza Azteca and Ballet Folklorico, as well as ofrendas from community members and clubs such as McKinleyville Highschool’s Latinx club. 

“[Día de Muertos] in my opinion, is also a strong piece of advocacy [for] practicing our rights, our human rights,” Peréz said. “So, when someone cancels, that really affects us immigrants. When someone cancels it, it’s a message of sometimes censoring our culture.”

Mia is a journalism major and the Editor in Chief of The Lumberjack. She hopes to give a platform to underrepresented communities through her writing and provide the public with thoughtful and informed stories. In her free time she enjoys cooking, reading and playing the violin. Contact her at mdc140@humboldt.edu.

by Bodhi Haugen

On Nov. 3, Cal Poly Humboldt sent a student-wide email addressing campus resources for food insecurity following the government shutdown across the nation. Due to the continued shutdown, the distribution of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has been impacted for the month of November, a resource many students rely on. The email detailed the swipe assistance program, meal pickups beginning the second week of November in the Gutswurrak Student Activities Center, emergency grants from the Dean of Students’s office, and the Oh SNAP! Food pantry in room 122 of the Recreation and Wellness Center.​

As stated in a recent NPR article, “SNAP benefits will restart, but will be half the normal payment and delayed.”

The Trump administration announced that SNAP benefits for November would return with limited funding and delays, as only $5 billion in emergency funding was appropriated, while the total needed is $8 billion. 

It is unclear exactly when SNAP balances will be reloaded for recipients. Students are urged to reach out to the Dean of Students’s office at dos@humboldt.edu with any further questions.

by Nico Patakidis

A free New York Times (NYT) subscription will potentially be offered soon for all Cal Poly Humboldt students, courtesy of the Associated Students (A.S.). The most recent bi-weekly board of directors meeting on Oct. 31 discussed this item, which included feedback during public comment and a presentation given by Todd Halverson of NYT. 

NYT offers a variety of resources such as news articles, recipes for many different lifestyles, product recommendations and games. However, users can only view a certain amount of articles each month without a subscription. On Oct. 24, A.S. released a survey to determine how many students would be interested in receiving a free NYT subscription. The responses to the survey were a majority in favor of bringing free NYT subscriptions to Cal Poly Humboldt students. Out of the 72 respondents as of Oct. 31, 97.3% said they would be interested in the subscription. 

The presentation given by Todd Halverson, who has been with NYT for over 19 years, illustrated the different use cases that students may have with an NYT subscription and how the program can benefit Cal Poly Humboldt students. Halverson highlighted the resources that NYT has to offer apart from news, such as the cooking section where users can find low-cost recipes that are easy to prepare and can fit into a students schedule. Halverson said that the main goal of the program is to support students and stimulate educational, social and cultural wellness of the community. However, Halverson acknowledges that without a subscription, the resources offered by NYT are inaccessible. 

“What about those without the means to do so? So, where does that leave them?” Halverson said. “And where does that leave our society?”

Following the presentation and viewing the current student input from the earlier survey, A.S. Executive Vice President Ayan Cabot confirmed that the Board of Directors would continue discussing the offered NYT subscription program. As the discussion continues, the A.S. survey for NYT will continue to accept responses from students. 

Nico is a sophomore journalism major with an interest in covering local government and political affairs. In his free time he enjoys hanging out and having fun. Reach him at np211@humboldt.edu.

by Eli Farrington

As a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipient and low-income student dealing with chronic illness, Gus Dorman understands — more than most — how important food security can be. 

Before coming to Humboldt, Dorman studied culinary arts at Diablo Valley College in the Bay Area. She is used to cooking for large groups of people and appreciates the positive impact that it can have on the community. When she saw her community struggling, she was inspired to roll up her sleeves and spring into action. 

“It’s important to me because I know what it means to be hungry, and I know what it means to be without [food],” Dorman said. “What’s happening right now is not okay. We don’t always have control over what’s happening outside our community, but we do have control over how we affect change while we’re in it — and this is the way I can do that.”

For Dorman, her fellow students and her professors in the art department have become her chosen family. As an older student and a mother, she views many of the younger students as her adopted children. 

Senior interdisciplinary studies major Ro Meisler designed the flyers for the event, and plans to help Dorman with Wednesday dinners going forward. Meisler has lots of love for the wider Arcata area and sees it as an incredibly unique place where a tight-knit community allows for mutual support networks to thrive. She also believes that the university often falls short when it comes to serving the basic needs of students, which inspired her to help Dorman bring this project to life. 

“There’s a bunch of different projects like this that are really successful already,” Meisler said. “Just having a web of people included in making a difference, so that so much burden doesn’t fall on any one person, is really helpful.”

Meisler and Dorman plan to connect with a network of local farms and grocery stores to source the food for their Wednesday night dinners. They have already partnered with several local farms and gardens who have agreed to donate produce, including Blue Lake Rancheria’s Daluviwi’ Community Garden, Goosefoot Farm in Arcata and Red Cedar Gardens in Fieldbrook. They are also accepting donations from the community in the form of monetary contributions through Cash App, as well as canned goods. 

This week’s menu includes vegan chili, meat chili, braised pork, cornbread, chips and salsa, salad, and bean and cheese burritos provided by a local community member. Community members are encouraged to bring their own cooked dishes to share and volunteers are welcome to join in on the mutual aid. 

“Our students are already pressed when this kind of stuff is not happening,” Dorman said. “The number of homeless students, the number of food insecure students, the number of displaced and ignored students — it’s a problem. I think the more we address it this way; it’s a kinder approach, and we’re asking people to be involved.”

Both Meisler and Dorman are passionate about social justice and advocacy for disenfranchised communities. They want their Wednesday dinners to help feed the campus community, but they also want to address the issue of food waste by connecting with more local grocery stores, bakeries and farms to make use of good food that would otherwise be thrown away due to imperfections or aesthetic reasons. 

“We have so many injustices in our own country and in the world,” Dorman said. “There’s not a lot of safety that people can trust in, but one thing is certain across every culture — that if you can sit down at the table and eat together, change can happen. It’s a really powerful way to have conversations that are difficult in other respects, and food bridges those gaps often. 

Eli Farrington is a senior journalism major and Managing Editor for The Lumberjack. He has a passion for social justice, and hopes to use his writing to shed light on underrepresented local communities. He can be reached at eaf62@humboldt.edu.