The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Author: Luis Lopez

  • Speaker from Melbourne talks cannabis

    Speaker from Melbourne talks cannabis

    Jenny Williams, a professor at the University of Melbourne, spoke with Humboldt State economics students on Feb. 19 about her findings in a 15-year study of the effects of cannabis users and their choice of job professions.

    “In today’s age, cannabis use is something that is socially acceptable,” Williams said. “Today, more of the population who start using cannabis are young, between the ages of 14-18.”

    In Williams’s study, 49 percent of 1,000 male high school seniors used cannabis. Within that 49 percent, most of them either stayed in low-wage jobs after graduation or continued their academic career.

    Williams’s study also shows theories that cannabis users have a present mindset.

    “Users of cannabis are more willing to go into lower wage jobs,” Williams said. “This potentially leads to users being less likely to complete their education.”

    Brea Smith, a student at Humboldt State, said marijuana use is likely going to increase due to the recent legalization in California.

    “I won’t be surprised if the number of younger users increases in a couple of years.” Smith said.

    Eureka resident Jacob Rice has been a cannabis user for years.

    “I wanted a job for the sake of getting money,” Rice said. “I guess the study is accurate in some way, but I would take it with a grain of salt.”

    Williams plans on conducting a similar study to look into female high school seniors.

    “Socially, cannabis has become more acceptable than it was years ago,” Williams said. “I think it’s important to look at a students’ financial wellbeing in the long term when it comes to long-term cannabis use.”

  • College Creek Marketplace introduces new bag rule

    College Creek Marketplace introduces new bag rule

    Students will now be required to leave their bags with cashiers when shopping at the College Creek Marketplace. This new rule is administered by Humboldt State University’s dining services.

    Ron Rudebock, dining services director, said theft has become a bigger issue this semester than the last.

    “It’s why this new system is being put into place,” Rudebock said. “We need to take the precaution to prevent more theft from happening.”

    The way the system works is customers will leave their bags in a rack supervised by an employee and receive a pin with a number.

    Once they’re done shopping, customers return to the rack where they left their bag, give the pin back to a supervising employee and receive their belongings.

    Rudebock expresses that he didn’t want to use this system, but is required to avoid an increase of the price of items sold in the marketplace.

    “We’ve already had people calling to say that they think it’ll be inconvenient for everyone involved,” Rudebock said. “But for us to not increase the price of items in the marketplace, we need to use this system.”

    Selena Ponce is a College Creek Marketplace employee.

    “There is some frustration at first when we ask for [a customer’s] bag,” Ponce said. “When we explain that theft is the reason for the new rule, people are willing to leave their bags with us.”

    Rudebock said dining services will consider implementing a similar bag rule in The Depot and The J if theft becomes more common in those locations.

    “It was much easier to just go in, get what you need and get out,” HSU student Natalie Carbarl said. “It’s kinda dumb, but I understand why [the Marketplace] need to enforce this rule.”

    “People who are stealing from the Marketplace are hurting the school more than they actually think,” Rudebock said.

  • Volunteer efforts in Jefferson Community Park

    Volunteer efforts in Jefferson Community Park

    The Youth Educational Services (YES) held a volunteer event for Humboldt State students on Feb 10. The event was held at Jefferson Community Park where volunteers were tasked with planting a garden for the community.

    Dean Shearer operates the volunteer opportunity programs for YES.

    “Jefferson Center is a community run center,” Shearer said. “If five or 30 people show up, it doesn’t matter. Any help is much appreciated.”

    Not only did the members of YES show up, HSU fraternity Chi Phi showed up to assist Jefferson Community Park with the planting of the garden.

    “I‘m here because I love to hang out with my friends and this place is perfect for that,” Chi Phi member Eddie Castillo said.

    Another member of the fraternity, Sergio Maciel, said he was involved for the community service aspect.

    “I think that it’s great for the fraternity to go out and do something good for the community,” Maciel said.

    Members of Chi Phi doing their part for the community. Photo by Luis Lopez.

    Richard Evans, vice president of the park, lives near the former school building turned community park.

    “It used to be a school that was closed down in 2012,” Evans said. “The community was tired with the city not doing anything with the building so we bought it and now it’s a park for the community to enjoy.”

    The Jefferson Community building contains many resources for people to utilize. There is a certified kitchen for the public to use, space to hold public forums and a playground for children.

    “The community wanted change for the closed down school,” Mark Weller, the deputy director of the Jefferson Community Park, said. “Events like this are open to any student from HSU who are outside of YES house.”

    Heidi Benzonelli (far left) and Mark Weller (center) helping volunteers put soil on the truck bed. Photo by Luis Lopez.

    Heidi Benzonelli is the president of the Jefferson Community Park.

    “[It was] another awesome day, way beyond what we expected,” Benzonelli said. “The park is coming into shape with the outpouring of volunteers.”

    For people who were not able to attend this event, the community park is always looking for volunteers to help with the park.

    To volunteer or learn more, you can visit jefferson-project.org or follow facebook.com/Jefferson.Project on Facebook.

    All the volunteers who came in to help the Jefferson Community Park on Feb. 10. Photo by Luis Lopez.

     

  • Laundry machines on campus that rarely work

    Laundry machines on campus that rarely work

    When it comes to the Humboldt State University campus laundry rooms, students are never surprised when they spot an “Out of Service” sign on one of the machines.

    HSU senior Robert Matthews is accustomed to seeing that sign when he walks into the laundry room.

    “I’m never really surprised to see at least one or two machines that are broken down when I’m doing laundry,” Matthews said. “It does get annoying to have a machine that is broken down, and all you can do is call the company in order to have it fixed. Even if you call them, it would take a long time for the machines to be fixed.”

    Many students who live on campus are irritated when they cannot do laundry due to broken machines. This is especially annoying when on-campus laundry rooms have limited machines that need to serve over 2,000 students who live on campus.

    Stephen St. Onge, the Housing & Residence Life director, explains why the laundry machines stay broken for a long time.

    “The company that we bought the machines was from a company called Wash, which is located in San Francisco,” St. Onge said. “When a machine would break down, we would call the company to send someone down to fix the machine… but sometimes it would take awhile for someone to come down here at Humboldt.”

    According to St. Onge, the contract with Wash ended this year.

    “With the contract ending with Wash, the school now owns all the washing and drying machines on campus,” St. Onge said. “What this allows us to do is to self-service the machines ourselves. Students will eventually notice the improvements in laundry machine maintenance in the future.”

    St. Onge also expressed plans to make washing and drying free for students living on campus in the future.

     

  • Staying healthy during the flu season

    Staying healthy during the flu season

    Flu season has begun and the California Department of Public Health provides weekly reports of the epidemic. In CDPH’s third weekly report, all Californians are encouraged to get themselves vaccinated as soon as possible.

    An email sent by the CDPH stated, “CDPH is concerned about the severity of influenza and the impact of influenza on the health of people of all ages.”

    The CDPH went on to inform individuals by asking anyone suffering from the flu to avoid going into emergency rooms unless symptoms become more severe.

    The CDHP lists a variety of symptoms that people need to be aware of. These include:

    • Fast breathing or trouble breathing
    • Chest pain or pressure
    • Abdominal pain or severe vomiting
    • Not being able to eat or drink enough fluids
    • Being confused or not walking normally
    • Having symptoms that improve but then return with a fever and worse cough
    • Appearing dehydrated

    For anyone who is suffering from these symptoms, the CDPH encourages you to get in touch with health care services or seek emergency care as soon as possible.

    Students at HSU looking for a place to get vaccinated can visit Student Health and Wellbeing Services for free flu vaccinations. Vaccinations are only offered from October through January.

    Residents who are not HSU students can also visit the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services clinic in Eureka.

    On their website, they inform residents that “the cost of the flu shot is $17, although no one will be turned away for inability to pay.”

    The Center for Disease Control and Prevention offers people methods on how they can prevent themselves from contracting the flu: “Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub”.

    The CDC also recommends cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects. In addition, avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. For more information to prevent spreading or getting the flu, visit the CDC’s website.

    The ongoing flu epidemic is being regarded as the worst in decades. The CDC reports that in the third week of the year, doctor visits for flu-like symptoms increased in the United States to 6.6 percent, higher than the national baseline of 2.2 percent. The number of pediatric deaths is 37.

    “It is not too late to be vaccinated,” the California Department of Public Health said. “CDPH recommends that everyone 6 months of age and older be vaccinated each year.”

     

  • Movie review: The Post

    Movie review: The Post

    The Post is a well-made film.

    The film is set in the early 1970s and details the leak of the Pentagon Papers. These classified documents revealed 20 years of the U.S. government’s involvement in Vietnam’s government. In addition, the documents uncovered our government’s knowledge of the Vietnam War’s poor state. It was one of the biggest scandals in the U.S. before the Watergate scandal. What’s more is that the Watergate scandal was exposed by writers of The Washington Post.

    After The New York Times published parts of the Pentagon Papers, the Nixon Administration sued them and began threatening other news publications. If they published any classified information from the Pentagon Papers, they would face litigation.

    The film focuses on The Washington Post’s dilemma of whether to publish the Pentagon Papers for the sake of informing readers. The other option is to play it safe and not face litigation from the Nixon Administration.

    Tom Hanks portrays Ben Bradlee, a veteran editor for The Washington Post. Meryl Streep plays Kathrine Graham, who is trying to get used to leading The Washington Post after inheriting the company from her deceased husband.

    Bradlee is eager to publish the Pentagon Papers in protest of the Nixon Administration’s silencing of the press. Meanwhile, Graham must decide if she should risk tanking her family company by allowing them to be published.

    The film starts off slowly. The first half of the film focuses on Graham’s character dealing with the process of going public with The Washington Post. However, the film becomes engaging when the backstory is over. The plot thickens when The Washington Post gets their hands on the Pentagon Papers.

    The strongest part of the film was when the Pentagon Papers were introduced. From there, the film becomes an interesting political thriller. The characters question the legitimacy of the government’s power to censor the press. They also consider what risks they are willing to take in order to inform the public.

    The Post sets a relevant theme of today’s political climate. In particular, the Trump Administration’s manipulation of the press, withholding information from the public and the overall negative attitude towards the press.

    One thing that worried me about the film was that it might have gotten a bit technical with the audience. The film “Spotlight,” while still being a very good film, had a lot of technical terms that might have gone over the heads of average movie goers. However, The Post felt easy enough to follow for the laymen who might not be familiar with journalism terms.

    The cast was excellent in the roles they portrayed. Hanks and Streep did a fantastic job. The side characters were great as well. I was excited to see Bob Odenkirk, who stars in Better Call Saul, in this film. He did an excellent job of portraying his role as writer Ben Bagdikian.

    There are some focusing issues in the beginning, but it picks up in the later part of the film. I would recommend giving The Post a watch.