The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Category: Josiah Lawson

  • Humboldt alum writes campus climate bill, to named after David Josiah Lawson

    by Alex Anderson and August Linton

    A bill dedicated to slain Humboldt student David Josiah Lawson is being considered by the California state legislature this year. If ratified, AB 644 would require the CSU system to collect and report back to the state discrimination data and surveys at all of their campuses. 

    It’s been nearly six years since 19-year-old Lawson was murdered at a house party down the street from campus on April 15, 2017. At approximately 2:50 a.m., a 911 call went out to the Arcata Police Department stating that someone had been stabbed at a party on Spear Ave. When police arrived, Lawson was lying on the ground with multiple stab wounds, one of which pierced his heart. Lawson was transported to the hospital and was pronounced dead at 4:07 a.m. 

    At the scene, 23-year-old Mckinleyville resident Kyle Zoellner was detained by police as a possible suspect. Zoellner’s clothes were covered in blood, which can be seen on police dash cam footage from that night. In the days following the incident, Zoellner was charged with murder and a preliminary hearing began. On May 5, 2017, after five days of preliminary hearings, the judge in the case ruled that there was not enough evidence to move forward to a jury trial and Zoellner was subsequently released. 

    Months went by following the preliminary hearing with still no new suspects. Students, advocates, and community members were outraged with the handling of the case. 

    Charmaine Lawson, Josiah’s mother, spoke at an Arcata City Council meeting on Nov. 16, 2017 where a large crowd of protestors and advocates showed support for Lawson and expressed their grievances with the city’s handling of the case. By Oct. 31, 2018, then-interim APD Police Chief, Richard Ehle, announced that APD’s investigation was ending and that all findings would be turned over to the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office. 

    In February of 2019, under immense pressure, Humboldt District Attorney Maggie Fleming convened a criminal grand jury for the Lawson case. The grand jury came to the decision that no one would be indicted for the stabbing of Lawson. Following the decision, a member of the jury spoke anonymously through a video released by North Coast news. This anonymous juror called the grand jury process a gross failure.

    “Several voted for manslaughter, four or five voted for murder,” the anonymous juror said to the reporter. “The deputy district attorney said that we could subpoena Mr. Zoellner, the suspect, but he discouraged us from doing so.” 

    About a year following the grand jury ruling, on Feb. 20, 2020, the National Police Foundation released a report nineteen months in the making. It found that APD was unprepared to investigate the Lawson case.  

    Since Lawson’s death, Charmaine Lawson has made regular visits to Humboldt County, raising awareness about her son’s case and holding vigils for his memory in front of the Humboldt County courthouse or in the Arcata Plaza. She has been an outspoken critic of DA Maggie Fleming, and started an annual coat drive in her son’s honor. 

    Former CPH student Naomi Waters drafted the bill based on her experiences as a Humboldt student. It was introduced on February 9, and was sponsored by Representative Reginald Jones-Sawyer.

    “From my specific experience at Humboldt, being a student leader, I myself was on the receiving end of hate…in the community and also on campus,” Waters said. 

    As an activist in the community, Waters said that a case like Lawson’s was bound to happen in Humboldt. 

    “I feel like the energy and the ineptitude of the institution in the CSU as a whole allowed for the conditions that eventually led to Josiah Lawson’s death,” Waters said. “And for me, I had seen that quite plainly. So when I heard about Josiah I wasn’t surprised…my friends and I who were organizing, we kind of knew something like this would happen and we were quite vocal about it.” 

    Waters says that she left  Humboldt because of the violence against her, and transferred to UC Riverside. 

    “While there I was working with the UC Student Association, and so for me that was a seat of power that I could [use to] possibly begin working on something like this,” Waters said.

  • Justice for Josiah

    Anyone with information regarding the David Josiah Lawson case is encouraged to call the APD’s 24-hour confidential tip-line at (707) 825-2590 or the APD Dispatch Center at (707) 822-2424

    On April 15, 2017, Humboldt student David Josiah Lawson was fatally stabbed at an Arcata house party around 3 am. McKinleyville resident Kyle Zoellner, 23, was taken into custody relating to the incident. After five days of the preliminary hearing, the judge ruled that there was not sufficient evidence to hold Zoellner and the suspect was released despite witness testimonies.

    Since this day, David Josiah Lawson’s mother, Charmaine Lawson, has fought endlessly to bring justice to her son. There have still been no arrests made and Charmaine Lawson pleads for those in the community who know something about what happened to come forward.

    Over the past four years, approaching five, there has been a documentary made about the injustice of David Josiah Lawson and the case has attracted the attention of a number of murder mystery channels.

    Danielle Hallan is a true crime YouTuber who investigates unresolved cases through news outlets, speculations of investigators, journalists and family members. Charmaine Lawson encouraged the video that was made by Hallan about the Lawson case to be shared to the Humboldt community to keep the case alive with hope that justice will be served.

  • Charmaine Lawson and the Eureka NAACP announce the third annual David Josiah Lawson Memorial Scholarship

    Charmaine Lawson and the Eureka NAACP announce the third annual David Josiah Lawson Memorial Scholarship

    As we approach the third anniversary of the death of David Josiah Lawson, his mother encouraged Humboldt County’s Black, Brown and Indigenous college-bound seniors to apply for his honorary memorial scholarship.

    “Students and parents, I know that this year was tremendously difficult with the pandemic,” Charmaine Lawson said through a video posted on the Justice for David Josiah Lawson Facebook page on Feb. 8. “But, I know for the students it was even more difficult.”

    Charmaine Lawson said how grateful she felt for the Eureka NAACP continually working to provide opportunities for students through the memory of her son, David Josiah Lawson.

    After the morning of April 15, 2017 when Josiah Lawson was fatally stabbed during an altercation at an off-campus house party, his mother has worked tirelessly to hold those involved accountable. Charmaine Lawson continues to travel from her hometown of Perris, CA to Humboldt County where she speaks with crowds of hundreds of people, demanding justice for her son.

    The Eureka NAACP first announced the scholarship at a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday celebration in January 2018. The scholarship is available for Black, Brown and Indigenous high school seniors in Humboldt County.

    Three scholarships are awarded each year. Two are awarded to students planning to attend a four-year university and the other one is awarded to a student planning to attend a two-year community college. Each scholarship is a one-time award of $500.

    “Both of my children, DJ and Anthony, received several scholarships throughout their high school years,” Charmaine Lawson said in a press release by Eureka NAACP that announced the first set of scholarship recipient winners back in 2019. “They felt very honored and blessed to receive financial assistance from different organizations.”

    It is through the David Josiah Lawson scholarship, vigils, food and coat drives, along with many other charitable acts, that Charmaine Lawson finds ways to honor her son.

    Last June, hundreds of people congregated on the Humboldt County Courthouse steps for the 38-month vigil for Josiah Lawson. The wound of the racial injustice that Josiah has suffered felt fresh to those in attendance.

    Mireille Román is a student at HSU, majoring in English writing practices and critical race, gender, and sexuality studies with an emphasis in ethnic studies. She spoke at the vigil about her frustrations regarding HSU’s response to the death of Josiah Lawson, questioning what the university has even done to honor their former student through the injustice that he has and continues to receive.

    “There’s not a building or area dedicated to Josiah that says, ‘We see you,’” Román said as she stood in solidarity with the Lawson family.

    Anthony Lawson, brother of Josiah Lawson, has consistently been alongside his mother in their fight to bring justice to their family. He has valued the obstacles that him and his family have had to endure, pushing himself to persevere and succeed.

    The CSU Board of Trustees honored him as the 2020 winner of the Chancellor Emeritus Charles B. and Catherine Reed Scholarship for his University, CSUN. It was there where Anthony Lawson honored his brother and reflected on all the ways that he and his family have accomplished over the past couple of years.

    Although Charmaine Lawson is inevitably compounded by grief through the failures of Humboldt’s judicial system, she feels like keeping his name alive by helping others is what best reflects the kind of character that was Josiah Lawson.

    “It’s scholarships like the one that my mom started at Humboldt that benefit other students who are struggling financially and we just want to show them that we aren’t just there for our family, we are there for the entire Humboldt community,” Anthony Lawson said to the CSU board of trustees.

    More details on the scholarship: https://acc2b65b-de53-412f-afe1-dfb07c852025.filesusr.com/ugd/62031f_af9fd1c39e6d48bfa201a1f2cd986aa8.pdf

  • Press Release: APD Still Seeks Public’s Help in Lawson Case

    Press Release: APD Still Seeks Public’s Help in Lawson Case

    APD asks witnesses to come forward on third anniversary of David Josiah Lawson’s death

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    JOSIAH LAWSON HOMICIDE OCCURRED THREE YEARS AGO

    On this day three years ago HSU Student David Josiah Lawson was murdered in Arcata. This case remains under investigation and the Arcata Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance during the on-going investigation. On April 15, 2017, while attending a house party on Spear Avenue, Josiah was stabbed during an altercation. Josiah was pronounced deceased shortly thereafter at Mad River Community Hospital. 

    Witnesses described upwards of 100 people in attendance at the house party. Many of those who were present have not been identified nor have they been interviewed by Detectives from the Arcata Police Department. The completion of this investigation is dependent on a number of factors including interviewing all people who were present at some point during the party or who have information that can corroborate what occurred that night.

    The Arcata Police Department established a 24 hour confidential tip line for community members to provide information relative to this investigation. The phone number is (707) 825-2590. Community members can also call the APD’s Dispatch Center at (707) 822-2424.  

    Keeping Josiah’s memory alive is paramount to this case. The Arcata Police Department will continue to investigate this case and will continue to work all investigative leads until justice prevails.  

    Attached in a separate email is a Public Service Announcement developed in partnership with DJ’s Mother, Charmaine Lawson, the Arcata Police Department, the Eureka Broadcasting Company and the City of Arcata’s IT Department. The PSA link is Facebook compatible. All are encouraged to share this link with anyone in order to never forget DJ and to encourage community members who have any information at all regarding who else was in attendance at the party and/or the events that led to DJ’s death, to come forward. 

    Public service announcement video reposted by the North Coast Journal:

  • Report Reveals Shortcomings in Lawson Case

    Report Reveals Shortcomings in Lawson Case

    National Police Foundation identifies issues and makes recommendations

    By Grace Caswell and James Wilde

    The National Police Foundation assessment team reviewed the first 72 hours of the Josiah Lawson homicide case and released a 65-page review on Feb. 20. The report included NPF’s response to the case and feedback for the Arcata Police Department.

    NPF said APD responded professionally to the crime scene at 1120 Spear Ave. on April 15, 2017, but the crime scene lacked proper security and management.

    “Many basic tenets of crime scene security and management were not followed in this case,” NPF said.

    The Arcata City Council commissioned the report in September 2018 for $30,000. NPF is an independent, nonpartisan organization that analyzes police cases.

    From August 2018-2019, NPF conducted 24 interviews and reviewed reports, transcripts and court procedures, including 50 hours of recordings and 6 hours of APD dashboard camera video. Due to the ongoing status of the case, NPF couldn’t interview any witnesses or partygoers other than first responders.

    NPF said APD personnel weren’t trained or given access to necessary equipment, which are common issues in small law enforcement teams. As a result, APD couldn’t sufficiently manage the crime scene and investigation.

    NPF recommended APD do more to communicate and build relationships with the Arcata community.

    “The APD chief has an opportunity to institute a culture of ongoing evaluation of the department’s performance—especially in critical incidents or unusual responses,” NPF said. “This is how organizations grow, evolve, learn, and improve.”

  • SoCal Connected Produces Lawson Documentary

    SoCal Connected Produces Lawson Documentary

    ‘Who Killed Josiah’ examines the consequences of a divided community and the effect David Josiah Lawson’s death had on his family

    In Humboldt County there are some people that don’t know about David Josiah Lawson, but others will remember his name and story for the rest of their lives.

    When Karen Foshay, an executive producer for KCET – a television station in Southern California, heard about Lawson’s murder she felt she had to follow the story. Foshay produced the 29-minute episode “Who Killed Josiah?” for KCET’s news documentary series SOCAL Connected.

    After three months of working on the news documentary, “Who Killed Josiah” premiered on KCET’s website, kcet.org, and YouTube on Oct. 22 and will air on KCET-HD and KCETLINK on Nov. 12, 13, 14 and 16.

    Foshay’s husband attended Humboldt State University as an undergrad. In January, when she and her husband were passing through Humboldt, she found herself on the scene covering a national news story when two local girls went missing from their backyard.

    “Along the way I meet a photojournalist who told me about an LA student who was killed up here,” Foshay said. “I looked into it and I was really interested. Not the death itself, but what this death did for the area.”

    “We couldn’t paint the community as racist. We had to be fair and give their voices and experiences justice.”

    Karen Foshay

    The episode follows the murder of David Josiah Lawson, a 19-year-old Humboldt State University student, who was stabbed at an off-campus party on April 15, 2017. The show examines the consequences of a divided community and the effect Lawson’s death had on his family.

    Foshay said that part of the reason she pursued Lawson’s story is because he moved to Humboldt from Perris, a city in Riverside County. She added that she understands many students move to Humboldt from Southern California. When she and her crew were investigating, they had to consider HSU’s policies, recruiting methods and how the institution approached the death of a student.

    When the crew collected more information, they weren’t able to separate Lawson’s story from the area.

    “The scenery and landscape is the backdrop,” Foshay said. “Rugged, scary, and drop dead gorgeous which frames the mystery of the story.”

    The crew filmed at familiar places in Humboldt, such as HSU’s campus, Eureka and Moonstone Beach. The crew also interviewed recognizable local faces, such as Lawson’s mother Charmaine Lawson, photojournalist Mark McKenna and former KHSU Office Manager Lorna Byrant.

    Photo courtesy of Karen Foshay

    Toward the end of their investigation, Foshay said that she and her crew obtained four hours worth of dash cam footage that captured dramatic moments of the night of the murder, as well as a call a police officer made to Charmaine breaking the news of her son’s death.

    “You have to keep asking questions and digging,” Foshay said.

    “Who Killed Josiah?” depicts an emotional and complex story that provides a variety of perspectives from Lawson’s family and the community at large.

    Foshay said that she wanted to respect the strong feelings on both sides.

    “We couldn’t paint the community as racist,” Foshay said. “We had to be fair and give their voices and experiences justice.”

  • Jury swayed from murder charges

    Jury swayed from murder charges

    Source calls Josiah Lawson trial unprofessional and amateur

    A source with knowledge of the criminal grand jury that presided over the stabbing death of David Josiah Lawson has expressed concerns with how the proceedings took place. The Lumberjack has agreed to withhold the person’s name for protection of their identity. The source said the trial was unprofessional, poorly investigated and wasn’t given the attention it deserved.

    The source also said Deputy District Attorney Joel Buckingham used the charge of self-defense to steer the grand jury away from a charge of manslaughter or murder.

    “Maggie Fleming and Buckingham’s motives were contrary to protecting the community from a killer,” the source said. “The whole thing was an amateur performance. The DA, the judge and police officers all seemed amateur. It all seemed unprofessional, especially for the level of this case.”

    The source said the decision to not indict Kyle Zoellner was based on self-defense, but to their understanding the grand jury’s task was to vote only on murder or manslaughter. On April 19, 2017 Zoellner pled “not guilty” to a charge of murder and was released on May 5, 2017 after Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Dale Reinholsten said evidence was insufficient to hold him.

    Buckingham never told the grand jury that Zoellner made a claim of self-defense in the murder of Lawson, according to the source. During the preliminary hearing on May 4, 2017, Arcata Police Department Detective Todd Dockweiler was asked by Assistant District Attorney Roger Reese if Zoellner thought about pulling out a knife because he was getting beaten up. Zoellner said “he wouldn’t do that” and “he would rather take a beating than stab someone,” Dockweiler said. The mention of self-defense was never made.

    David Wise, a San Francisco criminal defense attorney, said a grand jury’s objective is to decide whether or not there is probable cause and enough evidence to indict or not indict a person who may have committed a crime. Wise has 26 years of legal experience and went on to say if a defendant never claims self-defense but claims innocence, then that is a decision for a regular jury, not a grand jury.

    “They can decide the acts they heard can determine the murder was malicious, but they wouldn’t say it was because of self-defense,” Wise said. “The grand jury is there to decide on either indictment or no indictment, and self-defense never comes into play.”

    Former Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos agrees with Wise and said if a suspect denies they did a crime, then self-defense doesn’t make sense as an option.

    “Under those circumstances it doesn’t make sense to me,” Gallegos said. “That makes things a little more quizzical or puzzling.”

    Gallegos was Humboldt County’s district attorney for 12 years and said a prosecutor can steer a grand jury a certain way. He said the public has some reason to believe a grand jury is fair and represents the community’s values, however he also acknowledged it is possible for prosecutors to go into court with a slant, or intent. He said if a prosecutor wants an indictment, they’ll get an indictment. In 28 years of practicing law, Gallegos said prosecutors are usually not asking for self-defense unless there is an indication of a crime.

    “If a defendant claims they did not stab the victim, generally one doesn’t get a self-defense instruction if it isn’t consistent with the defendant’s case,” Gallegos said.

    The source said Buckingham guided the grand jury on deciding a non-indictment decision by ordering them to make a decision on self-defense before making a decision on an indictment. According to the source, deliberation lasted less than six hours over a three-day period. On March 11, deliberation began and the source said Buckingham gave each member of the grand jury 20 pages with information and definitions pertinent to the case. The definitions of “legal self-defense,” “manslaughter” and “murder” were on those pages, in that order, and read aloud by Buckingham.

    There are distinct differences between a grand jury and regular jury. Wise said a grand jury makes a decision whether or not felony charges should be rendered against somebody so they can be tried by a regular jury on a later date.

    Wise said a grand jury and regular jury have different standards of law. A regular jury decides beyond a reasonable doubt someone committed a crime while a grand jury decides on cause to indict.

    “The grand jury is a prosecutor, a secret proceeding with no defense lawyer and no one cross examining witnesses,” Wise said. “It’s secret, in a regular [jury] there are two lawyers defending their case.”

    During the testimonies the source said one of the three surprise witnesses claimed they were punched in the face by Lawson a few months prior to Lawson’s death. According to the source the witness wasn’t at the party and didn’t know who punched them until photos of Lawson surfaced in the media after his murder. On April 3, during a KMUD News evening talk, DA Fleming spoke of the witness, Christopher Griffin, and said they brought him in front of the grand jury because “it is our responsibility to present any and all evidence that is relevant to the charges. That is our duty, that is our obligation.”

    When the source was asked why they thought Griffin was called in to testify the source said, “it only affected the image of Josiah Lawson’s character. It was an attempt to defame his character.”

    When asked if Zoellner had any witnesses called to the stand to state similar claims on his character, the source said no and that Buckingham told the grand jury more than once that Zoellner had no past violent acts or criminal records.

    Former Humboldt County DA Paul Gallegos said if there is an indictment and not all evidence was put forth in front of the grand jury, then defense attorneys would say the prosecutor didn’t do things right. Gallegos said in a criminal case the victim doesn’t have the same rights as the defendant and because of this it is not uncommon to bring in character witnesses against the deceased.

    “The one currently being prosecuted is the defendant or suspect and in a criminal case it’s the defendant’s rights we have to protect because they are being prosecuted,” Gallegos said. “The defendant is the person we are taking rights from. The defendant has rights the victim doesn’t.”

    The source also said there were a total of 25 witnesses that took the stand. Wise said there is no average number of witnesses that go in front of a grand jury because every case is different, but 25 is unusually high.

    “Twenty-five seems like a lot unless it was a complicated corporate fraud documented case,” Wise said. “That’s like a very complex case with people around the world.”

    The source said during a preliminary vote, the grand jury had 15 of the 18 jurors in favor of Zoellner stabbing Lawson by the end of March 12. When the grand jury reconvened on March 13, a juror claimed Zoellner’s stabbing was in self-defense and became angry and annoyed if someone disagreed with them. The source said this person was intimidating, had threatening mannerisms and appeared to change the vote of most of the jurors toward self-defense. The end result of the grand jury was Zoellner killed Lawson on April 15, 2017 in self-defense.

    “It seemed like it was rushed,” the source said of the entire proceeding. “The Deputy DA did not display the confidence of an attorney speaking in a court. He seemed very cautious or worried or careful, as if he knew he was doing something wrong and the grand jury would know he was doing something wrong.”

    The Lumberjack reached out to the Humboldt County District Attorney’s office and is currently awaiting a response.

  • Gathering for Justice For Josiah

    Gathering for Justice For Josiah

    By T. William Wallin and Freddy Brewster

    Although no indictment, Charmaine Lawson vows to keep fighting

    “My son needs you more now than ever, stand for him and fight for him.” These words were spoken by Charmaine Lawson to a crowd of grieving students, faculty, administrators and community members at the UC quad on Friday March 15.

    IMG_9139.jpg
    Justice For Josiah Committee stand in solidarity with Charmaine Lawson as he addresses a crowd of students, faculty, administrators, and community members about keeping up the fight to find justice for her son David Josiah Lawson. | Photo by T.William Wallin

    “Thank you everybody for being here,” Lawson said. “We will see how the system treats people who aren’t from here, we shouldn’t be judged by the color of our skin but by our character. My son was a man of character.”

    On Wednesday March 13, a grand jury declined to indict any person in the fatal stabbing of Charmaine Lawson’s son and murdered HSU student, David Josiah Lawson. This lead to protests at the Humboldt County Courthouse and Justice For Josiah Committee to hold a gathering for Justice For Josiah on campus.

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    Students, faculty, administrators, and community members join hands in a moment of silence for David Josiah Lawson. | Photo by T.William Wallin

    Lawson has been a presence in Humboldt County in the last 23 months since her son was murdered. She has brought attention of her son’s death to CSU Chancellor, Timothy White, CSU Chairman, Adam Day, as well as California’s attorney General Xavier Barrera.

    “Your life is not supposed to be taken like my son’s,” Lawson said. “I am not going anywhere, I’m a fighter and will be fighting until the end. I need you help and your support. We have to let people know about Josiah.”

    IMG_9182.jpg
    Lorna Bryant, who has been spreading the story of David Josiah Lawson through KHSU, stands with Charmaine Lawson. | Photo by T.William Wallin

    Justice For Josiah Committee member Nathaniel McGuigan said his thoughts on the grand jury’s decision was unforgivable. He said this stops the progression of the efforts of Justice For Josiah and “shows how the system supports white supremacy and the capitalist state”. Although McGuigan is disappointed with the decision he is optimistic on moving forward.

    “As long as we hold them accountable there is hope,” McGuigan said. “Without pressure nothing can be done.”

    IMG_9160.jpg
    Charmaine Lawson addresses students, faculty, administrators, and community members that she will not give up fighting for justice for her son David Josiah Lawson. | Photo by T.William Wallin

    A.S. President Jazmin Sandoval shares McGuigan’s disappointment. She said that the University has not been involved with the students since Josiah’s murder and students have been having to help other students.

    “Charmaine just wants our support and she’s got it,” Sandoval said. “I’m hoping we are going to do our best. I don’t have faith in the criminal justice system but I have faith in the people.”

    IMG_9187.jpg
    J4J committee member, Daniel Segura, embraces Charmaine Lawson at the Gathering For Justice For Josiah. | Photo by T.William Wallin

    Sandoval said HSU administrators wanted to have a moment of silence for Josiah but students rejected their plan because of their absence in the past 23 months. The Gathering For Justice For Josiah was put together by Lawson and the J4J Committee.

    “We did this gathering so students could be there for Charmaine,” Sandoval said. “We aren’t going to stop until we get justice for Josiah.”

    IMG_9205.jpg
    Charmaine Lawson holding flowers someone gave her during the moment of silence for her son David Josiah Lawson. | Photo by T.William Wallin

    HSU President Lisa Rossbacher was among the crowd listening to Lawson and said “there is no such thing as enough for times like this.” Rossbacher said she was sad for Charmaine and her family and the friends of Josiah.

    “The city and university are working together to make sure that this place is safe for all of our students,” Rossbacher said. “When we talk about justice for Josiah I think we need to make sure we change society into something that is fair and equitable for all.”

    Arcata Police Chief Brian Ahearn agrees and said UPD and APD have been working together and have a healthy collaboration in place. Ahearn said he attended the Gathering For Justice For Josiah to stand in solidarity with Lawson, Josiah and the HSU community. Ahearn said he is confident they will solve this case and bring justice for Josiah.

    “We are going to get this done,” Ahearn said. “We are going to identify without any doubt who killed Josiah.”

    IMG_2683.JPG
    Arcata Chief of Police Brian Ahearn and University Police Chief Donn Peterson mourn the death of Josiah Lawson at the Gathering for Justice for Josiah at the HSU quad on March 15. | Photo by Freddy Brewster.

  • Letter to the Editors

    Letter to the Editors

    j4j_statement-2.jpg

  • Breaking: No justice for Josiah

    Breaking: No justice for Josiah

    No indictment, but APD Chief vows to bring justice

    By: T.William Wallin and Freddy Brewster

    Humboldt County District Attorney Maggie Fleming announced that there will not be any charges filed in regard to the 2017 murder of Josiah Lawson. A Grand Jury met on Feb. 28 and reviewed “testimony from 25 witnesses, including experts in forensics and DNA,” according to a released statement.

    Arcata chief of police Brian Ahearn said that he takes full responsibility for the shortcomings in the investigation and has called for additional witnesses to come forward.

    “I have fallen short and have not delivered a final product to hold someone accountable for murder,” Ahearn said. “We need witnesses to come forward and we need the public’s help.”

    HSU student activist and member of Justice for Josiah Deema Hindawi was dismayed by the announcement.

    “I feel sick to my stomach, I am disgusted and feel betrayed,” Hindawi said. “A black man was murdered. What we are learning here at HSU is that there is system that only works for certain people.”

    Josiah Lawson was stabbed multiple times at an off-campus party in Arcata on April 15, 2017. Since the beginning of the investigation there has been controversy involving how the Arcata Police Department handled the homicide.

    Former APD chief of police, Thomas Chapman abruptly resigned in 2018 as well as former FBI special investigator Tom Parker. Parker resigned due to frustration with how the case was being handled, and said it was “clear [APD] was holding back things and not telling me the truth.”

    Chief Ahearn is new to the Arcata Police Department having started in late 2018. However, he has pledged to bring justice.

    “We are not going to rest until justice is brought to Josiah,” Ahearn said. “We are going to solve this case, we are not going to give up. We will get this. This investigation is far from over.”

    Humboldt State will be offering support in the Jolly Giant Commons this evening from 7 to 11 p.m.

  • J4J protests

    J4J protests

    Protestors gather to demand Justice for Josiah

    By: Freddy Brewster and T.William Wallin

    Nearly fifteen people gathered outside of the Humboldt County Courthouse Wednesday night to protest the grand jury’s decision to not bring charges in the murder of Josiah Lawson.

    Lawson was stabbed during a house party in Arcata on April 15, 2017. Among the protesters is Jill Larrabee, a Justice for Josiah (J4J) organizer and friend of Charmaine Lawson.

    “I am infuriated with the decision, I don’t have words for it,” Larrabee said. “We have been out here for almost two years and it feels like we are getting robbed of justice. It’s the same story that has been happening for forever.”

    Larrabee said she has been involved in the J4J movement in since the beginning but became more intimately involved in January of 2018.

    “It is my duty to get involved,” Larrabee said. “I wanted to pick up when the students had to focus on school.”

    Eric Martin of McKinleyville also showed up to protest the grand jury’s decision. Martin grew up in Burlingame, Calif. and move to Humboldt to attend school at HSU. Martin graduated in 2007 with an art degree and became involved in the J4J movement last summer.

    “I am upset and I feel really angry that they aren’t going to do anything,” Martin said. “I thought there had been enough of an investigation to bring the murderer in.”

    Meg Stofsky is a member of the local NAACP chapter and showed up to demand for something to be done in this case as well. Stofsky is relatively new to Humboldt county having moved here from Upstate New York in 2017.

    “I’m shocked about how far behind the times the racial issues are here,” Stofsky said. “I love Charmaine Lawson and she needs justice, but it wasn’t served yet again.”

  • Continuing to fight for Josiah Lawson

    Continuing to fight for Josiah Lawson

    At the 22nd vigil, Josiah Lawson is remembered through Cool Runnings

    Honoring Josiah Lawson and black history month, the 22nd vigil of his passing was held on Feb. 15 at the Arcata United Methodist Church. The community of Justice for Josiah hosted a movie, Cool Runnings, which was based off of a true story of the first Jamaican bobsledding team.

    Jazmin Sandoval, president of Associated Students, joined the Justice For Josiah committee a year and a half ago to help bring justice.

    “I think this is a way to show solidarity and bring the community to have a safe space where people can really remember Josiah, and that could have been me or any other student,” Sandoval said.

    IMG_1709.jpg
    Community come together to watch a movie in support of Josiah Lawson and black history month. | Photo by Delaney Duarte

    Sandoval said she wants to make sure that not only are they wanting justice for Josiah, but justice for any students that deserve to be treated equally.

    [perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”Xiomara Fambrough” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=”17″]“I come to events like these because I want to support my community no matter what community that is…It is really important to me because I know that’s the real way the world is going to change.”[/perfectpullquote]

    “I just like to come in solidarity to show support for Michelle-Charmaine and try to pressure the law enforcement to push his case forward and demand justice for Charmaine,” Sandoval said.

    Students received free pizza from J4J members to go along with their movie. The committee was also selling shirts and pins that said Justice for Josiah, and let students borrow blankets for the cold.

    IMG_1706.jpg
    The Justice for Josiah committee give pizza out to the community. | Photo by Delaney Duarte

    Xiomara Fambrough, a 25-year-old who recently moved to Arcata, joined the community and took part in her first vigil for David Josiah.

    “I come to events like these because I want to support my community no matter what community that is, no matter how new I am to the community,” Fambrough said. “It is really important to me because I know that’s the real way the world is going to change.”

    Justice for Josiah has been communicated throughout the community, dispersing the story multiple times. Fambrough heard of Justice for Josiah as soon as she stepped foot into Arcata.

    “I heard about Justice for Josiah and the unfortunates of the event leading up to what happened to him,” Fambrough said. “Everyone I have talked to has so much details about it because there are flyers everywhere, people talking about it and not letting his name fall.”

    IMG_1710.jpg
    The remembrance of Josiah Lawson. | Photo by Delaney Duarte

    Jill Larrabee organizes all of the Justice for Josiah vigils, was present at the event and everyone feel welcomed. Larrabee organizes the vigils every 15th of the month.

    “We wanted to bring families together and eat food together while watching a movie that relates to both black history month and the background of Josiah’s heritage of being Jamaican,” Larrabee said.

    Like many other people who want justice for students like Josiah, Larrabee had words of wisdom of her own for HSU students.

    “It is extremely important to be vocal, not be silenced and keep going forward,” Larrabee said. “In any of these issues going on, there is so much injustice and evil in the world, we need to get together, and as a community come together to fight for justice. We have to fight, just fight for what we want until we get it.”

  • Community shows strong support for 21st vigil

    Community shows strong support for 21st vigil

    Justice for Josiah movement urges Humboldt County District Attorney to take action

    A dark and densely-clouded evening marked the 21 month anniversary of David Josiah Lawson’s murder. On Jan. 15 at 5:30 p.m over 50 supporters of Justice For Josiah gathered in front of the Humboldt County Courthouse, where justice has yet to be served to the Lawson family.

    “What brings us here tonight is love,” Renee Saucedo, a member of the steering committee for Centro Del Pueblo, said as the first speaker of the vigil. “Love for our people, love for our communities and resistance against racism, resistance against lies, resistance against a system that treats a family the way it has treated the Lawson family.”

    It has been over nine weeks since the Arcata Police Department submitted its investigation of the stabbing death of David Josiah Lawson over to Humboldt County District Attorney Maggie Fleming. Lawson was stabbed multiple times at an off-campus house party on April 15, 2017, and no one has been charged for the crime.

    “I remain hopeful,” Saucedo said. “But I am shocked that after all this time the investigation in the department of justice that has DNA conclusion and opinions with law enforcement officers that the Humboldt County DA hasn’t pressed charges and brought justice for this family.”

    When asked about new incoming students at Humboldt State, Saucedo said they will have to fight and organize for justice like anywhere else. She said things can’t change unless students demand change.

    “We are calling on DA Fleming to file charges now,” Saucedo said. “ And if she doesn’t then we as a community have to consider our options including exposing the negligence and abuse of power by using every strategy possible with love and respect that we will also try to hold them accountable. This is Charmaine’s (Lawson) wish and so it is my wish too.”

    The new year marks the Humboldt County Courthouse as a new place for action for Lawson’s monthly vigils. Jill Larrabee, an organizer for Justice For Josiah who has been working side by side with Charmaine Lawson the last year, said the decision to switch to the courthouse was because the investigation is now with DA Fleming.

    “We were going to Arcata City Hall because their investigation was so stalled and we needed to put pressure on the city itself,” Larrabee said. “Now that the investigation is handed over to DA Fleming it’s time to pressure her and we will be there until there is an arrest.”

    Since the beginning of the case’s investigation there has been controversy involving how the APD handled the homicide. Tom Parker, a former FBI special investigator, was brought in to help but quickly resigned due to his frustrations with how the APD handled the case, with it being “clear they were holding back things and not telling me the truth.”

    Former Arcata Police Chief, Thomas Chapman, also resigned and is currently in a lawsuit filed under Charmaine Lawson. Police Lieutenant Tod Dockweiler, Police Detective Eric Losey, Officer Krystle Armino, and City Manager Karen Diemer are also defendants.

    Josiah’s criminal justice professor, Michihiro Clark Sugata, gave a speech that reflected the criminology major’s eagerness to learn and make a difference in the world.

    “I remember the first day I met Josiah, he was intelligent, excited to be there and he just had this ease about him,” Sugata said. “As the weeks progress I became more and more impressed with Josiah in terms of having a real gravity about him, drawing people in.”

    Sugata reminded the crowd that unfortunately, history shows us law and justice are not synonymous and one does not necessarily lead to the other. While reading a book about Baltimore and the death of Freddie Gray with his class, Sugata said he saw a clear engagement with Laswon taking in the material and asking himself ‘what’s it going to take to grow a better society?’ Sugata said he saw Lawson grow into that question throughout the 2016 fall semester.

    “We have to find a way to bring Josiah’s question to light,” Sugata said. “We have to ask ‘what is it going to take?’ we need to center that and we really need to call for justice in ways that go beyond just following procedure. I’m not saying that’s not important but if history has shown us anything it’s justice requires bravery of everyday ordinary people.”

  • Lawson update

    Lawson update

    Josiah Lawson to earn posthumous degree spring 2019

    David Josiah Lawson was set to graduate from Humboldt State University with his B.A. in criminology in spring 2019. His mother, Charmaine Lawson, requested from HSU President Lisa Rossbacher that she receive his degree in his name during the spring 2019 graduation ceremony.

    Charmaine Lawson said the California State University Board of Trustees Chair Adam Day had honored her request for Josiah’s honorary degree. Lawson, along with her son Anthony, and daughter Chloe, said they will walk in Josiah’s place to accept his degree and he will be commemorated.

    “Josiah would have a degree if he wasn’t murdered,” Charmaine Lawson said.

    Josiah Lawson was stabbed to death at an off-campus house party 19-months ago on April 15, 2017. Former interim police chief, Richard Elhe, temporarily took over after Tom Chapman resigned. Elhe told the Times-Standard the investigation was nearly wrapped up.

    On Oct. 31, Elhe told the Times-Standard that the Arcata Police Department would be handing over their completed investigation to Humboldt County D.A. Maggie Fleming on Nov. 2. Ehle said he feels confident he has enough evidence for the district attorney to move forward with a charge.

    As of Nov. 12 no arrests have been made.

    This is an on-going story.

  • Dialogue on safety continues

    Dialogue on safety continues

    Charmaine Lawson holds an important meeting with Chancellor

    Charmaine Lawson and HSU student advocates held a meeting on student safety on Nov. 4 with California State University board of trustees chair Adam Day, and Chancellor of the CSU Timothy White.

    Charmaine Lawson is the mother of David Josiah Lawson, a criminology major at HSU, who was murdered at an off-campus party April 15, 2017. Josiah Lawson’s case remains unsolved and his murder has prompted students to raise issues of safety and support on campus, particularly for students of color who move to Humboldt and are unfamiliar with the area.

    Lawson said the meeting was to allow the students to express to Day and White their experiences and concerns involving safety on and off campus, poor housing conditions on and off campus and funding of multicultural centers which provide stable, reliable and safe sanctuary for students of color.

    “This is the opportunity where we get our voices heard,” Lawson said before the meeting.

    Charmaine Lawson met Day at a CSU board of trustees meeting in Long Beach. She asked him to be her guest at Humboldt to talk about safety for black and brown students.

    Charmaine Lawson said White wasn’t originally going to attend the meeting but he arranged his schedule just so he could make it. She said her son did not have safety at Humboldt and wanted Day and White to hear directly from students the problems they have on campus.

    “We want to make safety top priority for new students,” Lawson said.

    Attending in support of Lawson was lead staff for California Faculty Administrator’s Statewide Council for Affirmative Action Audrena Redmond and CFA Associate Vice President of Affirmative Action North, Cecil Canton.

    Redmond said there hasn’t been enough action since Josiah’s death and it was very important that Day and White came to the meeting. She said if this was the first they listened to the student concerns of safety and support on campus then the line of communication is broken somewhere in the CSU.

    Redmond said responsibility is starting to be taken after the treatment of Lawson during a board of trustees meeting where a police officer stood behind her holding his gun belt.

    “Policing of black bodies especially toward a grieving mother is inhumane,” Redmond said.

    Deema Hindawi, active member of M.E.CH.A and employee at the Multicultural Center, was one of the student advocates to express their concerns on continuous problems at HSU that has not been fixed. She said there is no point in calling UPD for help because they take too long and most students of color don’t even feel safe around them. Hindawi said the Multicultural Center at HSU is a reason why people of color are staying here but they are underfunded and have no professional staff that overlooks the center.

    “As students we run the center,” Hindawi said. “We need professional staff but that’s not something the university is giving us.”

    Hindawi also addressed the safety of students and said she doesn’t feel comfortable walking over the Sunset Ave bridge because there aren’t any lights. She said she sometimes doesn’t leave school until midnight and feels it’s necessary to carry a stun gun for safety.

    “I have been hearing that the bridge will have lights since I was a freshman,” Hindawi said. “I’m a third year now.”

    Active member of Students for Equality and Education and M.E.CH.A at HSU Nathaniel Mcguigan addressed the poor quality of on-campus housing and said students are forced to live in poor living conditions. Mcguigan said the campus dorms are too expensive and there are problems with mold and bed bugs.

    “I would like to see improving conditions of on-campus housing,” Mcguigan said.

    Cecil Canton was positive after the meeting and said it appeared Day and White were actually listening and staying present. A major problem Canton said is the disconnect from campus and community. He said the campus doesn’t see their nexus with the community until there is a negative action that takes place.

    “The community is in the campus and the campus is in the community,” Canton said.

    Canton said campuses have to ask themselves how they can work together with community. He said problems of safety for faculty, staff, and students are at all CSUs. Canton knows proof is in doing and action is needed.

    “We can’t afford anymore deaths at Humboldt, or any CSU’s,” Canton said.

  • Week of Remembering Josiah

    Week of Remembering Josiah

    Charmaine Lawson travels to CSU campuses with SQE and CFA

    It has been 18 months since the death of Humboldt State University student David Josiah Lawson. His murderer still walks free and case remains open.

    Charmaine Lawson, Josiah Lawson’s mother, spoke at Sacramento State on Oct. 15 on a panel with Justice for Josiah committee member Jill Larrabee, and Courtney Wagner, the director and editor of “Unsolved Hate,” a documentary of Josiah Lawson’s murder.

    Sacramento State was one of many campus stops for Charmaine Lawson during “Week of Action,” an event put together by Students for Quality Education to remember Josiah and discuss safety and the CSU’s accountability of Josiah Lawson’s murder.

    Twenty-one of the 23 California State University campuses participated in “Week of Action.” Lawson was invited to CSU San Francisco, Sacramento, Pomona and Fullerton.

    “I never thought I’d be sitting here right now,” Charmaine Lawson said, “We have gotten so much attention because of students.”

    Charmaine Lawson has also gained support of the California Faculty Administration. Charmaine Lawson said CFA has been amazing in the effort to hold the CSU accountable for Josiah Lawson’s murder and to better protect students.

    TW.charmaine.IMG_8408
    Charmaine Lawson (center) said she has been greatly supported by students and CFA in trying to hold CSU accountable for the murder of her son, David Josiah Lawson, who was a HSU student. Charmaine was in Sacramento on Oct. 18, 2018 and has travelled to four other campuses during Weeek of Action. | Photo by Tony Wallin

    Charmaine Lawson said that the CFA is helping by making postcards for people to sign, asking Humboldt County DA Maggie Fleming to excuse herself from the case.

    “CFA has been instrumental in their action plan and their resources,” Charmaine Lawson said.

    Charmaine Lawson told the crowd of CSU faculty, students and parents that she has had resistance from city officials, law enforcement and HSU administration since the beginning of the case.

    For months, when the case was being first investigated, Charmaine Lawson said Lt. Todd Dokweiler told her she could only speak with police chief Tom Chapman. Charmaine Lawson said that Chapman was telling her false information and has since resigned from the police force.

    “Chapman lied by saying San Jose and Eureka were helping with the case, but none of that was true,” Charmaine Lawson said.

    Charmaine Lawson said Arcata City Manager Karen Diemer, defended Chapman when she confronted her about Chapman’s lies.

    “She defended the presence of the city instead of exposing the city for what it really stands for,” Charmaine Lawson said. She said Diemer needs to go next.

    When she tried to contact HSU President Lisa Rossbacher about her son’s murder, Charmaine Lawson said she never got a response. She said she called her twice and has yet to get a call back. Rossbacher’s resignation as HSU’s president is effective June 30, 2019.

    “Lisa Rossbacher hasn’t even called me to offer her condolences,” Charmaine Lawson said.

    TW.charmaine.IMG_8415
    Jill Larrabee, Justice for Josiah committee member, Margarita Berta-Avila, CFA president at Sac State, Charmaine Lawson, mother of Josiah Lawson, and Raul Tadle, faculty at Sacramento State University on Oct. 18. | Photo by Tony Wallin

    Sacramento State CFA president Margarita Berta-Avila said one of the problems with the CSU system is recruiting potential students of color without informing them all the details of their possible future environment. The details that aren’t shared include the amount of students of color admitted and how isolated the area may be. Berta-Avila said there should be institutional policy guaranteeing new students will graduate and be safe.

    “It shouldn’t be when someone is killed that change occurs,” Berta-Avila said.

    Berta-Avila said the CFA got involved when Charmaine Lawson met with CSU Chancellor Timothy White. Berta-Avila said that when Charmaine Lawson stood in front of CSU administration to speak of her son’s murder, a police officer walked behind her and put his hand on his gun. Berta-Avila said that was the moment when CFA had to pursue action.

    “The violation doesn’t stop — it continues off campus,” Berta-Avila said.

    Jorge Quintana, a leader of Students for Quality Education at Sacramento State, said there is a difference between recruiting and having available space. Quintana said CSUs don’t hold safe spaces for students of color. Quintana said moving forward means addressing the shortcomings of the university regarding safety and to make sure protocol is followed.

    “It is CSU’s responsibility to keep us safe,” Quintana said.

    Quintana said if the HSU president didn’t call Lawson and CSU hasn’t done anything to help, then this is clearly an issue for students of color. Quintana said CSU hands are tied now that a student has died. Quintana said this is when educating students is needed.

    “Whats most important is to remember Josiah,” Quintana said.

    Quintana said CSU only cares when students are only doing good, but once they’re off campus or even struggling they stop caring. He said they have a choice on who gets admitted and who stays, but don’t have a choice of being students of color.

    “Systemic racism and micro aggressions are happening all over CSU campuses,” Quintana said, “There are more police officers than counselors.”

     

  • Community still demands ‘Justice for Josiah’

    Community still demands ‘Justice for Josiah’

    Police are past their estimated time for solving the more than one-year-old crime

    He was smart. He had goals. He came to Humboldt to avoid the challenges of South L.A.

    These words were spoken outside of Arcata City Hall by Karim Muhammed, a friend of David Josiah Lawson. Lawson was murdered on April 15 2017 and his case still remains unsolved.

    Discussion on race and safety in the community were the main subjects amongst community members on Oct. 15. Tears streamed down faces as homemade posters of Lawson were hung on the walls in front of Arcata City Hall.

    Muhammed met Lawson their freshman year in the dorms at HSU. He said he misses Lawson and was at his dorm everyday.

    “He was one of the first people I met when I moved to Humboldt,” Muhammed said.

    Muhammed said he thought Arcata was safe compared to south L.A but that isn’t his experience. How to keep moving forward he said is to bring awareness and continue to inform incoming students about Lawson’s murder.

    “We need to get it solved, get new people in power, get people informed and vote,” Muhammed said.

    Muhammed said the goal is to make the community safer but many people in the community are still oblivious to the death of Lawson or they just don’t care. When he learned of the roster release of the HSU’s predominantly African American student clubs to the Arcata Police Department, Muhammed said that was a big red flag. He said this shows where they stand with the situation and further proves their indifference.

    “People choose what they want to believe or they just don’t want to believe,” Muhammed said.

    Meg Stofvsky, a retired school psychologist, said the vigil’s are held to continue remembering Lawson as well as inform people who are new in the area. Stofvsky was representing Charmaine, Lawson’s mother, and said Charmaine has caught the interest of the California State University system about her son’s murder. She said Charmaine has been travelling to other CSU’s to talk about safety on campus and will be in Sacramento later this week.

    “We need a firm insistence we are not going to continue to let this happen,” Stofvsky said.

    It has been 18 months since Lawson’s murder and Stofvsky said the county seems to be sliding backwards. She said we need to continue having resilience and hope and to keep the Arcata Police Department accountable. Stofvsky said the APD recently gave a six to eight week time limit to solve the case and that limit is up.

    “We hear a lot of talk about progress from the APD but we haven’t seen any,” Stofvsky said.

    When Charmaine Lawson comes into town for court hearings or monthly vigils she stays at Sharon and Michael Fennell’s house. Both are HSU alumni and have been proponents seeking justice for Lawson. Sharon Fennell, was a KHSU DJ under the name Sista Soul and said she met Charmaine at the second vigil held for Lawson.

    “We show up once a month. This is a beautiful thing and Charmaine knows,” Fennell said.

    Fennell offered ideas to start selling “Justice for Josiah” shirts at the HSU bookstore to continue to bring awareness of his murder. She said that way Lawson would be seen more on campus and students would be reminded of what happened. A conflict Fennell has is that students come to HSU but then leave after they graduate, which keeps Humboldt from changing.

    “People need to come, stay, build businesses and change the community,” Fennell said. “If not we stay 80 percent white. Boring.”

    A member of the “Justice for Josiah” movement, Jill Larrabee, said actions by CSU and California Faculty Association are starting to take hold regarding safety on campuses but society needs to change. Larrabee said we need to learn, educate, heal and grow and get more people in office.

    “Humboldt County has the good ol’ boys club in power,” Larrabee said.

    To move forward Larrabee said white people need to converse with other white people about racism. Larrabee said racism is still a big problem here in Arcata but more and more people are coming out and acknowledging their privilege.

    “When we hear white people say we can’t guarantee safety, then we are going to demand it,” Larrabee said.

  • 17 going on 18

    17 going on 18

    But still no justice for David Josiah Lawson and his family

    On the 15th of every month for the past 17 months the advocacy organization Justice for Josiah, which is led by his mother Charmaine Lawson, holds a vigil in memory of David Josiah Lawson in the wake of his murder.

    This month the vigil was held at the Manila Community Center, adjacent to Josiah Lawson and his friends most cherished beach.

    “I chose this spot today because my son loved the beach,” Charmaine Lawson said. “I wanted to be in a place were my sons presences was often.”

    There were around 30 to 40 in attendance. Community members, Humboldt State University faculty members and family and friends of David Josiah Lawson gathered around to eat barbecue and listen to music.

    This did not detract from the seriousness of why people were gathered that day. Many wanted to talk about both the lack of transparency within the HSU administration and Arcata Police Department and overall trust in them.

    Sylvia DeeRoy, a local community member and HSU alumni, said she has had enough of HSU President Lisa Rossbacher and the HSU administration’s avoidance to answer questions they deem vital for family and friends of David Josiah Lawson, and other HSU alumni.

    “Ages have gone by,” Derooy said. “As an alumni (Rossbacher) doesn’t even care about me.”

    The vigil happened 25 days after the Aug. 20 roster release of the HSU’s predominantly African American student clubs to the Arcata Police Department. Many community members are unaware of this but those who are seem to take a deep frustration with the events that have transpired.

    Meg Stofsky a community advocate and member of the Justice for Josiah Movement, had words that seemed to resonate with many at the Vigil.

    “I thinks it’s racist as hell,” Stofsky said.

    Although there has been a deep mistrust of the HSU Administration and Arcata Police Department, many family and friends of Josiah say they appreciate the community support of those who know or didn’t know him.

    Berenice Roman, a student at College of the Redwoods and friend of Josiah, said that although she is frustrated and this situation is difficult, she is glad some in the community are concerned and willing to support them and Josiah.

    “It’s really cool that people in the community are mad about it, and are still coming to support Ms. Lawson and his friends,” Roman said. “It just makes us feel like we are not alone.”

    As the day drew on, the vigil turned its sights on the remembrance of the memory of David Josiah Lawson. Charmaine Lawson, aunt of Josiah Stacey, and friends Alex Foster and Karim Muhammad led the walk to Josiah and his friends’ favorite beach.

    Charmaine lead community members following the vigil and attendees chimed in harmony the ethos of these vigils and protest:

    “Justice for Josiah, long live D.J. and say his name, Josiah!”

    The procession winded down to the beach as their calls for justice echoed out into the humboldt-sphere. After, the vigil attendees gathered in a circle with their hands clasped together, which was formed around hearts with texts inside them that read, “Josiah” and “D.J.”

    Attendees were asked to go around and say something about Josiah that they remembered, or the reasons for why they were there that day.

    No one seemed to be able to get a word out without a semblance of confusion or sorrow.

    The vigil ended with the symbolic throwing of roses and petals into the ocean. Although this was supposed to be the most powerful image of the vigil Charmaine Lawson’s words seemed to transcend the moment.

    “I know he is not here in the physical but he’s here in spirit,” Lawson said. “I know he is shining and saying ‘Mom thank you, for not forgetting me and thank you strangers who are now family for being here and standing with my mom and our family.’”

     

  • Students seek justice for all

    Students seek justice for all

    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.

     

     

  • NAACP demands university to cease from minority-majority community recruiting

    NAACP demands university to cease from minority-majority community recruiting

    The Eureka chapter of the NAACP posted a press release on their website on April 26 asking recruiters from Humboldt State University to stop going to majority-minority areas and recruiting students of color.

    The press release listed several demands of the university changes and a call on the university to “forgo” the access to money that this recruitment opens up to the university.

    In the press release the NAACP said “HSU recruiters continue to travel to minority-majority communities, with the intent to enroll more students of color. Yet there has been no consistent presence of HSU administrators at the monthly vigils organized and facilitated by the students and Charmaine Lawson, the mother of Josiah Lawson.”

    The NAACP also expressed that HSU should be more transparent to students of color when it comes to racism in HSU.

    “If HSU is ‘number one for Social Justice’ as advertised, the University must accept responsibility for the negative impacts of its actions and inactions on students of color immediately,” the NAACP said..

    The NAACP also called out the college’s responsibility to protect students from “foreseeable violence on campus and in school-related activities off campus,” claiming that HSU was not taking action to do so. This responsibility is based off a California Supreme Court ruling in March that colleges must protect their students from foreseeable violence in a classroom setting.

    HSU President Lisa Rossbacher sent out a brief statement in response, expressing her thoughts on the NAACP’s press release.

    “I was astonished that the Eureka NAACP chapter would suggest that HSU could or should stop recruiting students of color,” Rossbacher said in her statement. “HSU is deeply committed to diversity and equality, and that would be a giant step backward for the values and mission of this university.”

    It‘s no secret to some that Humboldt State University’s administration has been facing criticism from students for lack of acknowledging racism around the campus, and its failure to protect students from the murder of HSU student Josiah Lawson to the students who have shared experience of rampant racism in Humboldt county.

     

  • Upset mothers march to Arcata City Hall

    Upset mothers march to Arcata City Hall

    Angry mothers, students and community members all marched in solidarity with Charmaine Lawson from Humboldt State’s Library Circle to Arcata City Hall demanding Justice for Josiah on April 18.

    Just a few days after the one-year anniversary of the death of HSU student David Josiah Lawson, who was fatally stabbed at an off-campus party on April 15, 2017, people are impatient for answers.

    “We demand justice for Josiah and we want Tom Parker back,” Charmaine Lawson said.

    Tom Parker is a retired FBI agent who was brought up to privately inspect the case for the last eight months. He resigned last week.

    The march made its way from HSU to City Hall through F Street. The city council was meeting that day and the shock could be seen on their faces when up to 100 people marched into the hall chanting, “Justice for Josiah!”

    The mayor of Arcata, Sofia Perreira, was in attendance, as well as city council members Brett Watson, Paul Pitino and Michael Winkler.

    The forum opened up for members of the public to address the board and a line started to form.

    “There is a killer on the loose and if I feel unsafe as an old white lady, how are these students of color supposed to feel safe?” Arcata resident Denny Dorsett said.

    As many other people came up to speak their minds, the energy in the room began to grow more charged.

    “I grew up in this place and I don’t feel safe anymore. Why are you not trying to protect me?” Faith Shaineider, an Arcata High School student who came to show her support said.

    Shaineder’s mother, Zera Starchild, was also in attendance and had some heavy words to deliver.

    “This town has already changed because of this,” Starchild said. “Arcata will never be the same again.”

    While many brought up concern for their own safety, others brought up different reasons justice needs to be served.

    Leslie Rodelander is a grant analyst at the Sponsored Programs Foundation at HSU.

    “If compassion doesn’t move you, hopefully economics will,” Rodelander said. “I see the sheets, and the number of students coming to HSU is dropping and will continue to drop if this does not get fixed.”

    After every other person spoke their mind, it was Charmaine Lawson’s turn. Mayor Perreira did not impose a time restriction on Charmaine Lawson as she had on everybody else, so she was able to deliver a powerful message.

    “I demand Tom Parker back. Call him in the morning Sofia,” Charmaine Lawson said. “If the roles were reversed, I know my son would be sentenced already. I need to know what happened to my son!”

    Cheers and applause could be heard around as people shared their support.

    After hearing from everybody who wanted to speak, Mayor Perreira motioned for a 10-minute recess, during which she approached certain members of the audience. In a strange turn of events, Perreira returned from the recess and adjourned the meeting. People tried to figure out why, but were given no answers.

    It has been over a year since Charmaine Lawson lost her son and the case is still wide open.

     

  • Out of the darkness comes light

    Out of the darkness comes light

    Survivors of sexual violence share their experiences through the events of Take Back the Night

    Take Back the Night delivers the message that domestic partner violence, intimate partner violence and other types of violence will not be tolerated.

    Xochitl Cabrera runs the Humboldt State’s Women’s Resource Center, which hosts Take Back the Night every year.

    “Sometimes people don’t need you to help them, you may need to take a step back. Some people just need to heal themselves,” Cabrera said.

    The Women’s Resource Center is a campus resource for people who need a safe place to study or find the help you need for survivors of sexual violence experiences.

    “The Women’s Resource Center knows that sexual violence and domestic violence happen all of the time, but it is up to the survivor to reach out to the Women’s Resource Center,” Cabrera said. “Take Back the Night is not for everyone. People tend to avoid the trauma it brings up.”

    Hanging on the walls of the Kate Buchanan Room are T-shirts from survivors of sexualized violence and friends of people who died from sexualized or domestic violence. The T-shirts had messages written telling of horrible acts of sexualized violence from family members, friends and others.

    “The T-shirts are difficult to look at, but their story needs to be heard. They are not nice. It is painful but necessary,” Jodie Huerta, HSU sociology major, said.

    Messages written on T-shirts decorating the walls of the KBR. Photo by Ahmed Al-Sakkaf.

    Assistant professor of Native American studies Cutcha Risling-Baldy was the guest speaker for Take Back the Night. Risling-Baldy’s talk was based on systemic violence toward people of color. Before her talk on missing and murdered indigenous women, Risling-Baldy acknowledged the death of HSU student David Josiah Lawson.

    “If David Josiah Lawson were not a person of color, his death would be on the news every day,” Risling-Baldy said.

    The Native Americans view domestic violence differently.

    “In an interview with a Wiyot woman, the anthropologist asks what happens if a man rapes a woman,” Risling-Baldy said. “The Wiyot woman replies, ‘That never happens.’ Asked why it never happens, the Wiyot woman said, ‘Because that person would be killed.’”

    Speaking out can trigger traumatic experiences for people.

    “People choose to come if they feel comfortable speaking on their testimony, and they choose not to come because they don’t feel comfortable speaking on their testimony,” Cabrera said.

    Some of the speak-out testimonies were about sexual violence that occurred during childhood and adolescence, while some of the testimonies were about sexual violence that happened at HSU. Sexual violence happens to HSU students, for which most of us are unaware.

    “Everybody knows that sexual violence is happening, but nobody is doing anything about it. It is just getting swept under the rug,” Grace Lamanna, HSU recreation major, said.

    People tend to restrain themselves from being in these spaces, because of the trauma it brings to them.

    “Some folks don’t feel safe in this space, because they don’t identify with domestic violence and sexual assault. People feel like they are taking up space and say, maybe this isn’t the space for me, I’ll take a step back,” Cabrera said. “That’s totally fine, because we want to prioritize those individuals that have experienced sexual assault and sexual violence at some point in their lives. That is what this space is mainly for.”

    Students hold hands in a circle behind the McKinley statue on the Plaza. Photo by Ahmed Al-Sakkaf.

    HSU sociology major Omar Miranda helped as a monitor for the Take Back the Night march as part of his class.

    “I feel like I made a difference. Big or small. Something small to me could make the biggest difference to the survivors,” Miranda said.

    The survivors gathered after the speak-out for the Take Back the Night march. Marchers wore orange safety vests, gathered in groups of five and were assigned a monitor. Monitors had received tactical training for this march and could protect the group if some danger presented itself.

    The marchers left school chanting, “Hey! Ho! The patriarchy has got to go!”

    The marchers went from school to the plaza downtown and were heckled by a few passersby in cars, as well as people along the route.

    On the plaza, the Take Back the Night members and public in attendance gathered in a memorial for the people who have died from sexualized and domestic violence. In silence, the less fortunate victims of this violence were honored.

    As the Take Back the Night march left the plaza, the declarative chanting could be heard echoing off buildings and down alleyways.

    “Take back the moon, take back the stars, take back the night because the night is ours!”

  • Justice for Josiah rally

    Justice for Josiah rally

    On April 5 at 1:30 p.m., students at Humboldt State left class to attend a rally on the UC quad in remembrance of David Josiah Lawson, a student who was stabbed to death at a party in Arcata almost a year ago.

    “It’s been a year, and that is fucking ridiculous,” Barbara Singleton, president of the Black Student Union at HSU said.

    Singleton stands on the second floor of The Depot, surrounded by a crowd of students who all left class as a part of the student-led walkout for safety in honor of David Josiah Lawson. The rain pounds down relentlessly, seemingly undetturent to all in attendance. The walkout is a part of 12 days of events being hosted in honor of the anniversary of Lawson’s unsolved murder.

    Video by Surya Gopalan.

    A year ago at a party in Arcata, Lawson, a black HSU student, was stabbed to death. There are currently no persons in custody. Students walked out of class at 1:30 p.m. on April 5 to be present at the 2 p.m. rally to bring justice to Josiah and demonstrate for student safety.

    Kalyn Garcia, 18, social work major, left class to be present at the rally.

    “I think that it is way bigger than Josiah,” Garcia said. “Any black, Mexican or children of color should not be concerned to leave their house.”

    As the rally began, two students, Singleton, as well as Daniel Segura, 23, a critical race, gender and sexuality studies major, began leading the rally. They began by explaining there have been rumors about the Justice for Josiah movement being involved in illegal or destructive activities, and that they do not condone any violence or illegal actions.

    Angel Sylva then performed a poem she wrote for Lawson, which will be performed again on the vigil held for Lawson on April 15.

    “If it happened to one of us, it can happen again,” Sylva said.

    With no sound equipment available to students after 1:00 p.m., due to campus policy, Sylva projects her voice as her only tool to spread her message to students.

    Students then began calling out the members of administration in the crowd. Alex Enyedi, the provost of HSU, as well as Wayne Brunfield, the interim vice president of Student Affairs, were two of the members of administration in attendance.

    “They have been silent this whole 12 months,” Singleton said.

    Singleton directly addressed HSU administration, the Arcata city council and the police department.

    “They have blood on their hands,” Singleton said.

    The crowd screamed for administration to speak, one individual saying, “It’s fucked up for you to be here and not say anything.”

    Eventually, Enyedi took the stage after much student call-out. He thanked the crowd for the opportunity to speak, then began.

    “Students are told you need to be patient, but I get it. How long should you be patient for?” Enyedi said. “I share your frustration, I share your impatience. It shouldn’t take this long.”

    Enyedi is not the one the students want to hear from. The question on everybody’s mind is where is Lisa Rossbacher, president of HSU? Students call out to Enyedi, demanding answers.

    “I’ll tell her you’re unhappy she isn’t here,” Enyedi said.

    A voice from the crowd screams, “We aren’t unhappy, we’re angry!”

    President Rossbacher never showed up.

    Brumfield was not getting away with silence either. Singleton and Segura called from the stage, “Wayne, where are you?”

    Brumfield did go up to the stage and approved students to use a megaphone, but never addressed the crowd. Many continued asking why he did not speak.

    When asked, Brumfield spoke of a racial equity plan he says he is currently working closely with students on. He said students deserve a voice in how equity and inclusion are happening in the community.

    “We’re working with the two chiefs of police, students and community members to look at policies of police reacting to students, both on and off campus,” Brumfield said. “I think we are moving in the right direction.”

    As the rally continued, a song written about Josiah was performed and then different chants were yelled throughout the crowd.

    The event coordinators then relayed the message of future events and concluded the event, inviting students to continue their activism and presence in the coming weeks.

    “The Justice for Josiah movement is very peaceful,” Singleton said.

    At one point in the rally, a group of people visiting for spring preview walked past the UC quad.

    “Anything they tell you will not justify his murder,” Segura said to the passersby.

    Segura, being in his 10th semester at HSU, he says he has seen how the administration deceives students. He said HSU goes down south and recruits students of color without disclosing the violence toward people of color that has happened in the area.

    “How are we supposed to welcome students of color when they trick you?” Segura asked.

    This article has been updated from its original version on Monday, April 9 at 5:58 p.m.