by Alexis Blue

Gutswurrak was filled with chatter, chilled drinks and cookies from a refreshment table on Feb. 11. The room felt lively; students, faculty, staff and community members gathered to listen to renowned author and activist Loretta J. Ross speak on contemporary society’s inclination towards cancel culture. 

Ross spoke as the Black Liberation Month Keynote Speaker, hosted by the Umoja Center for Pan African Excellence. Ross is an activist, feminist, public intellectual and professor at Smith College in Massachusetts. A 2024 National Women’s Hall of Fame Inductee, Ross was an exceptional figure in the women’s movement. She joined in 1978 by working at the first rape crisis center in the country, where she developed her knowledge on women’s human rights, reproductive justice, white supremacy and the intersectionality of race with each issue.

In her book, Calling In: How to Start Making Change with Those You’d Rather Cancel, Ross dives deep into what it means to call in, and how this strategy may be used to foster real change in activism as a whole, to fight modern facism in the United States. 

“I remember Trump coming down that golden escalator,” Ross said. “I knew that America was not prepared for what he represented. Everybody in the media thought that he was a joke. I thought that he was an outcome of what America is and has busily denied forever.”  

Ross continued by saying that 30 years ago, and even now, American society was so eager to call itself “post-racialist” to move past the fact that racism still exists in this country. 

As an activist, Ross discussed her experience trying to fight facism in the past, and particularly in the contemporary political climate that surrounds the current administration. Her activism for the larger part of her life has never been easy, but has allowed her to gain insight into how exactly she wants to work towards her goals. 

In developing how she wants to do work in her activism, she identified certain barriers and ways that people can advocate for change more effectively.
“Doing anti-Klan work, doing the human rights work, doing the women’s rights work,” Ross said. “All of that slowly brought me to the realization that we cannot effectively fight facism when we’re spending our best bullets on each other.” 

Ross outlines what she describes as a “Five C Continuum,” a framework for responding to challenging ideas and conflicts amidst one’s own activism: calling out, calling in, calling on, calling off and canceling.

She strays from the idea of cancel culture, and instead promotes her idea of calling in, as it allows people to confront their own ideas in a more productive way. 

“The first person you have to call in is yourself… You are modeling your best integrity in the world that you want to live in, not the world that you’re fighting,” Ross said. 

A part of the continuum, a calling on strategy is useful specifically in addressing the people in one’s life as an incentive for them to confront internal ideas that are affecting their external behaviors. 

“A calling on strategy is to help [the people in your life] pay attention to the good things that they’re capable of,” Ross said. “Using the adage of what Adrienne Maree Brown says, ‘What you pay attention to grows.’” 

Ross highlighted the importance of humanizing people that have differing opinions and the importance of human rights. In a world full of hate, facism, racism and people in power trying to strip humans of their basic rights, Ross spoke to the power of love to defeat hate. 

“For a movement, there will be many different people with many different thoughts moving in the same direction,” Ross said.  

Alexis Blue is a senior at Cal Poly Humboldt, majoring in journalism – public relations and minoring in writing. In her free time, you’ll probably find her drinking coffee, watching sunsets, collecting shells on the beach and playing soccer.

by Luke Shanafelt

Tasseled titties spun in circles as the host, Mr. Gino, emerged onto the stage in an emerald crusted blazer. The swing band filled ears with waves of roaring twenties jazz tunes. A pastel pink haircut bounced to the beat, waiting for a dancer to throw shreds of underwear upon them.

Burlesque entertainment uses elements of comedy, music and striptease to create a feminist counterculture rooted in tradition. On the night of Saturday, Feb. 7, more than 10 dancers, including Eureka Mayor Kim Bergel, took the stage at the Eagle House.

Harry Sass closed the show with a flamboyant display of unapologetic swag. He came in hot dressed with a funky white suit and a long silver wig. As the crowd begged for more, that white suit began to dematerialize. With an array of stringed disassembly, pasty white quadrecepts revealed themselves in the red light. 

“Burlesque was kind of like women taking back their power,” Sass said. “It’s about celebrating the beauty in everybody. The perfect body is what society says it is, and it’s unattainable.”

In Humboldt County, people use burlesque to express themselves without feeling shame. The host for the evening, Mr. Gino, helped highlight why Humboldt is a great spot for drag and burlesque.

“We have so many performers who feel safe putting themselves out there because we have love and support from our community,” Mr. Gino said.

Mr. Gino’s hosting skills kept the momentum of the show beating like a pulse. Backed by an incredible talent of jazz musicians and two beautiful singers, Mr. Gino could do no wrong. Cheers rang almost every minute. It was the same enthusiasm some give to the Super Bowl.

Ryan Citro, an organizer and performer in the event, talked about the style associated with drag and the time period it comes from.

“When I dress up, I want to look like Marilyn Monroe,” Citro said. “I just love old Hollywood glamor, I love being on the stage and I love creating costumes.” 

Citro took the stage with the attitude of a burlesque seasoned veteran. Her personality came through in her act with a calm confidence. Her peacock inspired attire also reflected her leadership and owning her own body, flaunting it not to attract mates, but to impress herself beyond her own expectations.  

“Burlesque gives me a lot of confidence,” Citro said.

Stripteasing takes some guts, especially performing to a sold-out crowd of more than 50 people. Citro created the peacock costume herself, something she tries to do with most of her costumes when she has the time and money. When she doesn’t, she looks to the community for help. Burlesque has themes of mocking high society, so hand-made costumes are not only sustainable, but also mimic the incredibly expensive culture of high fashion. 

To striptease for a sold out crowd of people takes major skill, practice and confidence. These artists work hard to own their body and their style, and embracing themselves makes it easy for outsiders to come in and find confidence as well. 

Burlesque dancers express themselves in a way that inspires. It’s an art form that shines light on glistening nipple pasties of all shapes, colors and sizes. In times of heated political turmoil, Americans have always had the freedom of expression to fall back on. Humboldt county’s hippie transplant origins gave the performers a comfort that holds them soft like a fern. 

Humboldt is artistically rich. Whether it’s finding confidence in yourself by watching your favorite dancer, getting inspired by the epic costume design and music, or supporting the people who work hard to create events like this. 

Mr. Gino had some final comments for the students of Humboldt regarding drag and burlesque.  

“Get out into your community,” Mr. Gino said. “A lot of times students come up here just for school. Don’t just come to school and leave, w. We have a beautiful place here. It really is a special little bubble.”

Luke is a senior journalism transfer from Socal who enjoys video editing, music journalism, and man on the street interviews. Contact him at ls432@humboldt.edu.

by Will Bishop

This Saturday night, beneath a haloed Waxing Gibbous moon, the high ceilings of Kate Buchanan were filled with churning and rapturous sludge. Main act Frankie and the Witch Fingers, in tandem with opener Zookraught, metamorphosed the vast, generally bean bag adorned space into a downright disgusting melee of bodies and sonic warfare. No vast Orwellian projections of Kevin from The Office on the walls this time around. If you wanted to escape your roommates and sleep for an alarming amount of time in Cal Poly Humboldt’s unofficially-official chamber of nap-titude, you were gonna be better off trying your luck under that big lightbulb in the sky.

Launching the night in T-minus to dance-punk doomsday fashion was Zookraught, a trio from Seattle consisting of Stephanie Jones on bass, Sam Frederick on guitar and Baylee Harper on drums adorned with facepaint that invited the tantalizing question, “What if Kiss was good?” Well, if Kiss was good, and a completely different genre of music and not in any way remotely similar to Kiss with the exception of their facepaint, then perhaps they would be like Zookraught — and perhaps they would be face-meltingly sick as fuck. Like Zookraught. For the first minute or two, I wondered where exactly their vocals were even coming from before realizing this is one of those “OH MY GOD THE DRUMMER SINGS”-type bands, promptly followed by the realization that they in fact all sing, and they will throw around that vocal baton at breakneck speed.

Describing themselves after the show as “Team Fun,” the band conjures an aura of whimsicality, theatricality and ferocicality (sometimes bands deserve new words) in equal measure, crossing guitar necks like simulated ten-string intercouse and raging at the American political machine with all manner of electro-acoustical might. Nary an ass was left unshaken by the end of this blistering set, as the band perfectly navigated the precarious zone between hard as nails punk and hooky-danceable-borderline pop that you could show to your pop-loving suburban aunt if you wanted to kill her or something. 

By night’s end, frontman of Frankie and the Witch Fingers Dylan Sizemore was among Zookraught’s biggest admirers, even going as far as to call them one of his favorite bands. 

“It’s insane they even opened for us, because they’re amazing,” Sizemore said. “I wouldn’t even call them an opener, we just played with them tonight.” 

Which brings us neatly to psych rock extraordinaires Frankie and the Witch Fingers, whose current lineup is comprised of the aforementioned Dylan Sizemore on vocals and guitar, Nicole “Nikki Pickle” Smith on bass, Josh Menashe on guitar, Jon Modaff on synths and Nick Aguilar on drums. The lone synth of Trash Classic introductory track Channel Rot heralded their arrival, prickling up the back of my neck and wriggling into my ears. Now that I’ve been infected with the Mind Virus, it is time to begin. 

Cue guitars. The relentless, borderline monotonic ripper T.V. Baby immediately established the cadence of the set. From there on out, it was go, go, go. The jerky stork-like posture dancing of Sizemore, like the hands of a rapidly malfunctioning clock, could practically show you how the music sounded without hearing it. With a head rigidly strapped to a constantly pecking gimbal metronome hybrid apparatus some might refer to as a “perfectly human neck” and a hard V stance akin to an upside down yield sign — which for those of you who don’t have driver’s licenses, means go very fast. He is the visual embodiment of the band’s sound.

While some may think of psych rock as eternally dressed in kaleidoscopic spaced out collages of LSD ambiance, Frankie and the Witch Fingers quote from a very different book. After the mayhem, Sizemore could be heard telling eager young fans about proto-electronic group Crash Course in Science, and it is precisely this kind of out-of-left-field reference that holds the keys to their unique sonic makeup. The high precision playing, the mutating repetition, the synth lead-ins; it all very much evokes the ethos of fringe, punk-inflected techno long before you would ever think of genre staples such as Spiritualized or Pink Floyd. Like motorik refracted through the scuzzed-out fuzz of psych rock. A mutant, a freak, a disgusting and abominable thing. Give me more, I want to keep hanging out with the swamp monster robot.

Will Bishop is a Cal Poly Humboldt journalism major. He is prone to writing essays about things that bother him, and fictional works about things that also bother him but in different ways. A highly bothered individual, and a lover of cinema, music, and large trees/rocks, he can often be found in the woods, dancing to bring down the sky.

by Ryndi Greenwell

**Name of volunteer not shared due to protecting their anonymity/ability to volunteer. This article will refer to them as “volunteer” or “presenter.”

On Dec. 8, Cal Poly Humboldt received a report back from the West Bank — a presentation and Q&A from a volunteer who spent three months in the West Bank of Israeli-occupied Palestine. They spent most of their time in Masafer Yatta, a rural collection of 19 villages within the occupied West Bank. The presentation took place at the Behavioral and Social Sciences building on campus, drawing in about 20 students and community members. 

The presentation covered a volunteer’s personal experience while in Masafer Yatta, including risks they encountered as well as the joy they found there. The presenter worked with the volunteer group Masafer Yatta Solidarity Alliance (MYSA), who work to establish a protective presence of international volunteers in the homes and properties of local Palestinians. The presenter discussed how the presence of volunteers made Palestinian families less prone to targeted actions from Israeli settlers.

“Families are less likely to get attacked if a volunteer is present,” the presenter said. 

The volunteer reported that in the area they stayed, there was some kind of incident with Israeli citizens or the Israeli Occupational Force (IOF) daily. The force is also known as the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), however the volunteer clarified that the defense part of the acronym is not accurate to their imperial actions. These daily incidents included the deployment of sound grenades to disrupt gatherings, IOF harassing locals for documentation frequently, destroying property and crops, water sabotage and more. Many of the incidents the presenter encountered were related to livestock and land protection.

“Settler shepherds were encroaching on their land,” they said. “Some days as early as 6 a.m., some days at 8 a.m..” 

Another main goal of the volunteer organization is to document incidents as they happen. Having a witness to violent or unfair treatment may help the families have a better case in court, and settler forces are less likely to harm Palestinians if an international volunteer is recording. Their phones or cameras are also much less likely to be seized or broken by the IOF. 

For those who might consider volunteer work like this, the presenter shared that there are few barriers to entry. Volunteers must complete an online training program before they can travel to the West Bank and can choose to not participate even after the training is completed. MYSA asks that volunteers stay for a minimum of three weeks in order to complete necessary on-the-ground training, but encourages the full three months in order to have the most impact. 

“The relationships you can build are deeper the longer you stay,” the presenter said. 

That was one major takeaway from the presentation — much of the difference one can make is creating close relationships with local Palestinians. Protective presence volunteer work gives communities some safety, but also leaves volunteers with a greater understanding of human rights. The presenter explained that most volunteers find themselves wanting to stay in the West Bank, and may return many times. 

“It is a life-changing, radicalizing experience,” the volunteer said. 

For more information or questions about volunteering, check out MYSA’s Instagram @masaferyattasolidarityalliance or their website my-sa.org

Ryndi is a news journalism major who loves to cook, paint and sing. Contact her rg315@humboldt.edu

by Sadie Shields

California State University, East Bay Professor and Philosophical Counselor Susi Ferrarello has spent years exploring the intersection of philosophy, literature and human emotion, ultimately shaping a body of work that bridges intellectual inquiry and lived experience. Her career in philosophical counseling gradually inspired her to write a book devoted entirely to the practice.

“I started doing philosophical counseling and then the experience accumulated,” Ferrarello said. “I thought it might be interesting to write a book about that.”

In her recent keynote at Cal Poly Humboldt on Nov. 6 titled “On the Philosopher’s Couch,” Ferrarello invited students to reconsider what it means to love intentionally. Blending philosophy, literature and personal anecdotes from her practice, she encouraged the audience to explore the potential for deliberate, mindful engagement in their relationships. 

“I wanted to give students that space — the same one I try to create for my clients — to know that we can become smarter when it comes to love,” Ferrarello said.

Preparing the lecture posed unique challenges. Ferrarello was aware she would be addressing a diverse audience including students, faculty and community members, and she sought to create a discourse that would resonate with all.

“When we want to share love with someone, we don’t need to act out of an invisible pressure,” Ferrarello said. “There is a space to make relevant choices in our loving life.”

Ferrarello explored two primary themes in her talk: the nature of choice in relationships and the role of emotions — particularly rage — in shaping human interactions. Drawing on Homeric literature, she referenced Penelope and Odysseus as an archetype of relational choice. Ferrarello paralleled this with a client named Christina, who, after more than a decade of marriage, faced continual choices regarding her life and identity within the relationship.

“Love is not just an intention,” Ferrarello said. “Even if I act in good faith, the outcome is not guaranteed.” 

Rage, she said, often complicates the capacity for rational choice in relationships. Referencing the Iliad, she examined Agamemnon’s destructive anger and drew upon stoic philosophy to distinguish between empty, unnatural rage and justified, purposeful thumos — a form of courageous anger grounded in values. 

“It’s not blind, violent rage,” she said. “It’s thumos — the kind of courage that lets us stand our ground and assert who we are. In those moments, we become heroes — we become agathos.” 

To translate these insights into practice, Ferrarello shared exercises from her book The Ethics of Love, designed to help readers reconnect with their capacity for thoughtful, intentional love. Ferrarello said her interest in love is both personal and professional; her book emerged from the intense emotional experiences of counseling clients during the pandemic alongside formative memories from her childhood in Rome. She recalled a neighbor, a woman subjected to psychiatric treatments, whose life left a profound impression.

“I always thought, oh my God, what a terrible life this woman is having,” she said. 

Ferrarello also reflected on the experiences of three other women, two of whom died by suicide following abusive relationships. She dedicated her book to these women, citing her own challenging upbringing as a lens through which she could understand the risks and complexities of love. 

“I could touch with my hands how dangerous and painful love can be if we don’t put our mind into it,” Ferrarello said.

Anxiety and possessiveness, Ferrarello noted, are pervasive challenges in human relationships. An anxious individual may be warm and affectionate yet fail to truly perceive the needs of others because they are consumed by their own fears. 

“The other person becomes an object, not the actual person,” Ferrarello said. 

Recognizing such patterns, she argued, is a crucial step toward healthier relational dynamics. For Ferrarello, the cultivation of self-awareness and humility is central to meaningful love. Humility, she added, prevents people from overestimating themselves or allowing others to define their worth.

Ferrarello explained that healthy self-love is not selfishness, but an ethical engagement with one’s own needs and potential. It involves recognizing one’s unique talents, moral responsibilities and inherent dignity. From this foundation, individuals are better equipped to nurture themselves and others. Ferrarello warned against seeking validation through superficial markers like popularity or wealth, noting that these forms of recognition are fleeting and can leave individuals vulnerable to manipulation. 

“This is another easy way of being loved that does not bring true happiness or fulfillment,” she said.

Ferrarello’s work underscores a central principle: love is a skill that requires reflection, ethical consideration and intentional practice. Through her counseling, writing and lectures, she seeks to equip individuals with the tools to navigate emotion, choice and human connection with greater clarity, compassion and courage.

Sadie is a junior communications major, journalism minor at Cal Poly Humboldt who has an interest in covering and taking photos for sports and wildlife journalism and a slight interest in breaking news. She can be reached at sls331@humboldt.edu.

by Luke Shanafelt

Everyone’s seen a cigarette butt on the ground at some point in their life — a yellowed, plastic tip sitting in the street, waiting to be disposed of. It’s the mascot behind the “I.D.G.A.F” mindset. 

The Surfrider foundation fights for plastic reduction, ocean protection, clean water and more. On Nov. 4, Surfrider Humboldt threw an event with a screening of The Cigarette Surfboard that showcased the process of creating a surfboard made up of over 10,000 cigarette butts. 

Dozens of community members flowed through the doors of the Arcata Theater Lounge to support the cause and listen to the filmmaker Ben Judkins talk about the idea behind it all.

Judkins, a former Arcata resident, was at the event and held a Q&A session after the screening.

There were many familiar faces interviewed for the documentary. One notable waterman and musician, Jack Johnson, had a significant role talking about environmental consciousness in the film. Local Humboldt student Andy Garvin marveled about the impact of the film.

“It showed how small amounts of people could make big changes in government,” Garvin said. 

In the film, Santa Cruz local Taylor Lane entered a contest to create a creative surfboard and his cigarette surfboard entry won. This sparked a movement with Lane refining the design and having real professional surfers like Mikey February styling on the board in a high performance surfing display.

The film was inspiringly disturbing. Many cigarette butts end up on the beach, then consumed by sea life and birds that come across the discarded pieces of plastic. With the help of local surfers, Lane went to the Santa Cruz city council and passed a bill that will outlaw the sale of filtered cigarettes by 2027. This bill is a huge step in the right direction for ocean conservation — the cigarette surfboard has a movement big enough to initiate change behind it. Starting from a hopeful ideal to reuse a product that most people find useless enough to flick on the ground with no regards, to real legislation being passed in the city of Santa Cruz.

Humboldt’s surf community has long balanced a love of good waves with a commitment to protecting the places that make them possible. That’s what made this film so real — it turned a familiar object into a mirror of self reflection. The next time you have a cigarette after watching this movie, it is going to be hard to disregard all of the hard work these folks are putting in to combat all the years of flicking butts. 

Luke is a senior journalism transfer from Socal who enjoys video editing, music journalism, and man on the street interviews. Contact him at ls432@humboldt.edu.